


Small Packages

by MissMy80sShows



Series: Season 5 - What Could Have Happened on SMK [11]
Category: Scarecrow and Mrs. King
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:08:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 35,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27354751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissMy80sShows/pseuds/MissMy80sShows
Summary: Good things come in Small Packages... or do they? As the days of Amanda's pregnancy are counting down, an enemy rears his ugly head.
Series: Season 5 - What Could Have Happened on SMK [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/935760
Comments: 5
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Lee stepped into the bullpen and scanned the room as he tried to cover his mouth while he yawned. He caught sight of Billy and Francine standing together at the coffee station. Halfheartedly, he gave them a wave before he crossed the room to join them. "Hey, Francine, do me a favor and make mine a double," he groaned as she began to pour him a cup of the aromatic black liquid.

"Let me guess,… insomnia?" she teased. She handed him a generic mug and smiled as she waited for his reply.

"Nope," Lee muttered as he gulped the coffee. He grimaced after swallowing and shook his head, "What the hell is this? Coffee flavored mud?"

Francine gave him another silly grin as she stated, "No, that's the new Robusta blend they started supplying down here in the bullpen. What it lacks in taste it makes up for in caffeine. I guess someone's a little concerned we might be sleeping on the job."

Lee took another sip and grimaced again, "Well, then, this might be exactly what I need."

"How is Amanda feeling today, Scarecrow?" Billy asked politely.

"Well, that depends on how you look at it," Lee groaned. "She was asleep in the recliner when I left."

Francine blinked several times before she tentatively stated, "That doesn't sound too bad."

"No, it doesn't," Lee responded before he added, "Considering we were at the hospital until two this morning."

"Oh, no. Again?" Francine groaned.

Lee closed his eyes and nodded, "Yup. Only this time, it was because the girls must have been practicing some kind of dance or soccer kicks or something because one of them kicked Amanda's diaphragm so hard, she couldn't breathe. Then, one of the little spawns planted her foot right alongside Amanda's ribcage and pushed hard enough you could count every toe clearly."

Billy covered his face as he tried hard not to laugh, "Spawns, Scarecrow? These are your children you're referring to."

Lee bobbed his head as he inhaled sharply, "Yup, they are. And, I think they are already giving us payback for all the times I acted like a jerk. It took the nurses almost an hour to get Amanda comfortable. She was in so much pain at that point; I can't even imagine what labor is going to look like."

"Well, I guess it's a good thing she doesn't have much longer, then, isn't it?" Billy asked cheerfully.

Lee sighed again, "Considering she's on complete bed rest now until they decide to make their grand entrance, she still has three weeks until her due date. The doctor keeps telling us he's amazed at how well Amanda is doing. Her blood pressure is good. Her weight is right on target, even though she'd argue with you on that one. The girls are measuring good sizes despite there are two of them in there."

"Does he think she'll go that long?" Billy asked as he began walking to his office, leading Lee and Francine.

"It's hard to say, especially after the early labor scare we had a few weeks ago," Lee admitted.

Francine piped up, "Well, being on bed rest should keep her confined a bit, right?"

"Ha ha," Lee chuckled. "Being on bed rest for Amanda simply means she can't do everything herself. It doesn't stop her from barking out orders from whatever spot she's currently resting in. Yesterday, before all the excitement began, she was sitting in the rocking chair in the girls' room, instructing me on how to stack the diapers on the changing table."

Billy held the door open for Lee and Francine to enter his office as he explained, "Well, Scarecrow, you've got to remember, Amanda's been through this before. She has more experience when it comes to infants, and she might have her own way of doing things."

Lee dropped onto the couch against the wall and sighed heavily, "I know. And she can't help feeling uncomfortable all the time."

"Have you decided on names finally?" Francine teased.

Lee shook his head, "No, that's another thing. We can't come to an agreement." He dropped his head back and groaned, "They'll probably be graduating college by the time we figure this out."

Billy chuckled loudly and assured him, "I don't think it'll be quite that long. You'll come up with a compromise, I'm sure. Just remember, this is the first of many tough decisions you're going to have to make on their behalf."

Lee groaned again, "If that's the case, I want a do-over."

Francine laughed again, "Are you saying you don't enjoy living like a normal person. Life in the suburbs is too much, even for you?"

Lee sat up and glared at her, "No, what I mean, is if I can go back to the time when we started discussing names, I would have made some different choices. That's all." He ran his hands through his hair, "I never thought my life would have taken the turn that it did, but I wouldn't trade it for the world now."

"Even if it meant losing Dotty?" Francine challenged with a grin.

Lee stood slowly and crossed the office to stand before her, "Knowing Dotty the way I do now… she scares me more than any intelligence interrogator I've ever encountered. She keeps us on our toes, that's for sure." Before Lee could continue, they were interrupted by a loud chirping sound coming from Lee's belt. Lee looked down and read the number on the pager attached to his belt. "Billy, can I borrow your phone?"

Billy gestured toward the cradle on his desk, "Of course. Let me guess. Amanda?"

Lee nodded as he lifted the receiver and punched the keys for their home number. "Hey, what's wrong?" He listened for a few seconds, groaned loudly, and rubbed the back of his neck. "Okay, I'll be home in about a half-hour. Traffic was pretty heavy this morning." He listened again, rolled his eyes, and insisted, "Yeah, a half-hour. I'll be there. Don't move." He hung up the phone and looked up to two sets of raised eyebrows staring at him. "Um… I gotta run back to the house. Dotty went to the store, and Amanda tried to fold some laundry. When she leaned forward, one of the girls got her foot stuck again. The doctor at the hospital showed me how to gently push it out of the way in case it happened again."

Francine couldn't hide the grin she was now sporting, "Leave it to Scarecrow to rush in and be the hero to not one, but three damsels in distress."

"Can it, Francine, or next time, I'm making you come along with me. Or better yet, maybe you should come to the birthing classes with us. We have two left. I mean, you never know what's going to happen and when. After all, you could have to be Amanda's coach if I'm tied up somewhere. Look at what happened a few months ago when I had to deliver that poor girl's baby," Lee teased.

Francine straightened her spine and smoothed her hair back with one hand, "No, I think that's outside of my duties as a friend, Scarecrow. It's not that I don't care for you and Amanda, but… just… no."

Billy shook his head at the playful banter between them and waved his hand, "You better get moving, Scarecrow. You don't want to keep Amanda in that position for too long. Get back when you can."

"Thanks, Billy," Lee replied as he opened the office door. He jogged toward the elevators, muttering, "Hold on, Amanda… I'm on my way."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Amanda!" Lee called out as he raced into the house.

"In here," came her muffled reply. Lee rushed into the family room to find her leaning to the side with a pillow underneath her large belly.

"Amanda!" Lee rushed forward to kneel beside her. "Show me where it is," he instructed without any pleasantries.

Amanda rubbed her hand alongside her ribcage and groaned, "I didn't want to bother you at work, Sweetheart, but I couldn't move. I couldn't get her to move. Mother isn't going to be home for hours. I didn't know what else to do."

Lee gave her a warm smile, "It's okay, Amanda. Really. Consider this a test for the real thing, okay?" He lifted her oversized maternity top and immediately located the small protruding bump on Amanda's side. "All right, little one, time to move," he stated before applying gentle pressure to the small mass. Initially, he felt resistance, as if the tiny bundle in Amanda's womb refused to budge. After several long seconds and several groans of discomfort from Amanda, Lee could feel the small protrusion shift and eventually disappear.

"Oh, that's so much better," Amanda sighed. "I don't know how much longer I can take this. Philip and Jamie never did anything like this."

Lee rubbed her soft skin for another minute as he stated, "That's because they didn't run out of room like these two are. Remember, the doctor at the hospital said this might happen a few more times before they're born." He helped Amanda sit up before he reclined on the couch beside her.

"I know what the doctor said, but I can't help feeling uncomfortable and nervous… and I guess a little bit scared, too," Amanda admitted.

Lee continued to run his hands across the soft, tight skin on her belly. Under his fingertips, he could feel hard forms and bumps, but he was unable to identify anything specific. "Amanda, there's nothing to be scared of. Isn't that what you've been telling me the last three months?" Lee reminded her.

Amanda covered his hand with hers and held it against her skin as one of the twins rolled. "I guess I'm just scared of making a mistake with them… I'm not as brave as I wanted you to believe I was," she admitted softly.

"Amanda, you are the bravest woman I know, and we're going to get through this. We only have a few more weeks, and then they're going to be here, and together, we're going to figure it out," Lee reminded her gently.

Amanda sighed, "I guess I forgot what it's like to have someone else help with a baby. Not that Joe didn't help… I mean, when Philip was born, he did… but then Jamie came along, and he got the job at the EAO, and he just wasn't around as much as I would have liked him to be. But I hope you'll be able to spend more time with the girls, especially in the beginning."

Lee gave her a dimpled smile and stated, "I already told Billy, I'm taking all my vacation time as soon as the girls are born. That should give us five weeks before I have to go back, and even then, he and I have already worked out a rotating schedule of two days on, two days off until the end of the year."

Amanda's eyes grew wide when Lee finished. "You planned all that? And you didn't tell me?"

"Billy and I just finalized it yesterday. I was going to tell you, but then you wanted to work on getting things arranged in the girls' room and then everything happened. I forgot," Lee admitted. He glanced at his watch and groaned. "I have to get back to the office. That meeting about Sorenson is supposed to start in an hour."

"Sorenson? I thought he was holed up in London?" Amanda questioned.

Lee nodded, "He was, but somehow he found his way across the pond. Intelligence spotted him in DC Monday. They're asking for our help to trap him."

Amanda poked his chest with one finger and stated, "Well, you better stay far away from any of that. Our luck, you'd be tangled up with the guy when I went into labor."

Lee rolled his eyes, "Amanda, do you really think I want to be anywhere near one of the best bomb-makers right now? No, I'm staying put. In the office. I have plenty of reports to catch up on, and I have to check in with all my contacts anyway."

"Good," Amanda nodded. "Do you think you can do one more thing before you go?"

With a chuckle, Lee stood and offered her both his hands. He helped guide her to a standing position and waited as she slowly waddled her way to the small bathroom in the hallway. When she reappeared in the doorway, he asked, "Where would you like to go? Do you want to sit back in the recliner? You can get your feet up. That will help with the swelling?"

Amanda lifted her chin and waited for Lee to lean closer before she brushed her lips across his. "The recliner will be fine. I might start reading that book I picked up on surviving the first few months with twins. I figure if we have an idea of what can happen, then we can hope for the best, right?"

"Right," Lee agreed before kissing her once more. He helped lower her onto the recliner and made sure she was completely comfortable before he left and headed back to the office. He managed to slip into the conference room just as Billy was giving his opening remarks. Billy acknowledged him with a raised eyebrow to which Lee simply nodded.

"All right people. As I was saying, Sorenson appeared in DC on Monday. You know what that means… If you're not working on a case, you are out on the streets searching for this guy. He's public enemy number one. His bombmaking skills have evolved like we've never seen before. The last bomb he made, he took out the equivalent of half a city block, killing nineteen civilians, three of them children. We have no idea why he's here, so we have to find him before he does any damage on US soil," Billy informed the group.

"What about any contacts he might have?" Francine asked.

"Good question, Desmond. As of now, any known contacts have been detained and questioned; however, no one claimed to have contact with him yet," Billy stated.

Lee raised his hand and asked, "What about family? I thought I had read Sorenson had a sister living nearby."

Billy nodded, "He did, but she was killed in a car accident just before Christmas last year. A wrong-way driver hit her head-on."

"Does he know? I mean, he's been out of the country, hiding, maybe he doesn't know what happened to her?" Lee suggested.

Billy tugged on his vest and stated, "That's a good point. We know she had a roommate, so if Sorenson didn't know, he's bound to reach out to her." He scanned the room and instructed, "Ferguson, take Michaels and head out there this afternoon. Now, if no one has anything else to add, get on this, fast. We need Sorenson off the streets before he can wreak havoc here." Lee waited until the other agents filed out of the conference room before he approached Billy. "How is Amanda?"

Lee gave him a slight grin, "Resting, just like I left her this morning."

"Good, maybe this time it will last more than an hour," Billy joked. "You know I don't expect you to be out looking for Sorenson. Amanda would have my head if I even considered that."

"Mine, too," Lee laughed. "No, I promised her I was going to stay here, squirreled away in the Q Bureau finishing reports, and checking in with all my contacts."

Billy gave him a sharp nod, "Good. The last thing I need is your very pregnant wife worrying about you being in the thick of things."

"Just think, Scarecrow, Amanda being pregnant is a small blessing in disguise," Francine teased.

Lee tipped his head and asked, "What do you mean?"

Francine shrugged her shoulders and stated, "Well, you know she won't be anywhere near Sorenson since she is safe at home with her feet up."

"Very funny," Lee snapped back. "And just so you know, if she doesn't keep her feet up, they swell, and she can't put her shoes on."

"I rest my case," Francine snarked with a smile.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Mother, where are the boys? They should be helping you," Amanda asked. Dotty was carrying in the bags of groceries, one at a time.

"Philip is working at the shop, and Jamie is with Joe, remember?" Dotty stopped, leaned against the doorframe, and questioned her daughter.

Amanda closed her eyes and sighed, "Now, I do. I swear, I forget everything these days." She dropped her chin and shook her head.

Dotty stopped by the chair Amanda was resting in and assured her, "There's a name for that. I heard it the other day. It's called Pregnancy Brain, and I'm sure it's from lack of sleep. You know, you're not your finest when you don't sleep enough, Amanda, and Lord knows the last time you got a full night's sleep."

"I know, Mother. And we both know, this is just the beginning. Once the girls are here, who knows how long it's going to be before they sleep through the night," Amanda groaned.

"Well, maybe you'll get lucky. After all, Jamie was a great sleeper. You never know. These two little princesses might just be perfect little angels and sleep better than you imagine," Dotty replied happily.

Amanda shook her head. "Or they could be like Philip was and be awake every two hours. That boy was always hungry," she recalled with a grin.

Dotty laughed, "Some things still haven't changed, have they? Hang on. I only have two more bags to bring in. Tell you what, why don't I make us a nice snack… I'm sure you haven't eaten nearly enough since Lee left this morning."

"Which time?" Amanda chuckled.

"What do you mean, which time? Don't tell me something happened and he needed to come back?" Dotty propped her hands on her hips.

Amanda stretched her back slightly, rubbed her hands down the sides of her expansive belly, and laughed. "Well, one of your little angels got her foot stuck again, so I had to call him."

"Again?" Dotty immediately gasped.

"Yes, Mother, again. Lee had to help me because I sort of got stuck in the position I was in," Amanda explained.

Dotty reached down and touched Amanda's stomach, "Now, listen up you two. Enough is enough. Save some of that energy for when you make a break for the outside world."

Amanda covered her mother's hand and chuckled again. "I don't think that's going to help. Lee tried talking to them, too, but so far, they have minds of their own."

Dotty gave her a crooked grin as she stated, "Sounds like someone else I know." She paused long enough for Amanda to roll her eyes before she added, "I only have two more bags, so how about some fresh cut watermelon? Your favorite."

Amanda dropped her head back and moaned, "Really, Mother? Watermelon? I look like a walking watermelon with legs."

Dotty patted Amanda's belly once more before she headed back into the garage. "Amanda, you're carrying twins! You're supposed to look like that! Now, stop complaining," she reprimanded her. She disappeared into the garage, muttering, "Soon enough, those babies will be here, and she will forget all about how she looked."

"I heard that, Mother!" Amanda called back with a sigh. She shifted the recliner back into place and slowly pushed herself into a standing position. She waddled her way into the kitchen and settled herself onto one of the stools where she started pulling groceries out of the bags and lined the items up on the kitchen island.

"What are you doing, Missy?" Dotty snapped as she reappeared in the kitchen carrying the last two bags.

Amanda continued to empty the bag as she replied, "Just because I'm on bed rest doesn't mean I can't sit and help."

Dotty placed the bags on the table and propped one hand on her hip before she began, "Amanda, the doctors told you to stay off your feet."

"I'm not on my feet, Mother. I'm sitting. Right here, on this stool. I'm not carrying anything. I'm not running around. I'm staying put. On this stool," Amanda insisted with a smile.

"What am I going to do with you, Amanda? Even as a little girl, you never did what you were told," Dotty shook her head.

Amanda chuckled, her large belly bouncing with each laugh, "Lee says the same thing. He's always telling me I don't listen to him, or I don't follow instructions very well."

Dotty held up a long, thin box of spaghetti and used it to point at her, "I'm going to tell you this, Amanda, Lee is a wonderful husband, and he's been a fabulous stepfather to Philip and Jamie, but… and I mean, BUT… you need to listen to him. You can't be going off all willy-nilly, doing your own thing all the time. You are going to need to work as a team, especially once those babies are born."

Amanda gave her mother a warm smile, "I know that, Mother, and I think he's going to be a great father to the girls. I mean, you see how he is with Charlie. He doesn't even think twice about picking him up or getting down on the floor to play with him if you're trying to clean up."

"Speaking of Charlie… Do you know Lauren told me she may have found a daycare that can take him three days a week starting after the Fourth of July?" Dotty sighed as she went back to emptying the grocery bags.

"Don't sound so sad, Mother. It'll be good for him to be around other children his own age," Amanda assured her.

Dotty dropped the box of cereal she was holding onto the counter and replied sadly, "I'm just going to miss him, that's all. He's become almost like a part of our family."

"Well, what is Lauren going to do with him the days the daycare can't take him?" Amanda questioned.

Dotty shrugged her shoulders, "I'm not sure. She didn't say." She moved across the kitchen and began filling the cabinets with the items Amanda pulled out of the bags.

Amanda smiled again and handed her mother a few more items to put away as she assured her, "I'm sure that means Charlie will still be here or with Christina and Harry if they can take him. I know it's hard for them, but Harry likes to spend time with his only grandson."

"I suppose," Dotty gave her one last, noncommittal shrug before she rolled the watermelon onto the cutting board and announced, "It's snack time!"

"Oh, Mother," Amanda rolled her eyes once more. "While you do that, I'm going to use the little girl's room." Slowly, she waddled her way into the small bathroom, only to shuffle back into the kitchen several minutes later. She found Dotty quickly slicing through the juicy melon, and before she even sat down, Dotty was sliding a bowl in her direction. Several bites later, Amanda declared, "You're right, Mother. This is exactly what I needed."

Dotty waved the knife in Amanda's direction as she stated, "I keep telling you, a mother always knows what her children need."

"Well, I'm pretty glad you're my mother, Mother. Because you always know what I need," Amanda gave Dotty a warm smile as she sunk her teeth into another juicy slice of watermelon.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Later that evening, Amanda and Lee laid in bed, side by side. Lee was reading through a phone tap translation while Amanda was reading a book on juggling twins in the first few months. "Sweetheart, you know it says here that we should try to get the girls on the same schedule as quickly as possible?" she read.

Lee dropped the report into his lap and shook his head while he yawned, "I can understand why. Feed both together; they both, hopefully, sleep at the same time. I would think that gives us a little bit of a break in between."

"Speaking of sleep, you look like you could use some," Amanda commented.

"Yeah, I'm a little tired, I guess," Lee admitted. He dropped the file into the top drawer of his nightstand and yawned again. "Okay, a lot tired," he laughed. "You want anything from the kitchen before we try to get some sleep?"

Amanda slipped her bookmark into the page she left off on and sighed, "Maybe just a small glass of water, please."

"You got it," Lee smiled at his wife before he stood and headed for the door. He jogged silently down the steps, and just before he stepped onto the second-floor landing, he paused when he heard Jamie and Philip talking.

"What do you think? You think Lee's gonna like it?" he heard Philip ask Jamie. Quietly, he took two steps closer to Philip's door and listened.

Jamie looked down at the gifts on Philip's bed. "I think so. I mean, Dad always likes the gifts we make for him, so why wouldn't Lee like one, too?" he reasoned.

Philip lifted the book they'd found and suggested, "Maybe we should give him this one first. I mean, we didn't make this one… we just bought it."

"The man at the book store swore Lee would like _The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers._ You heard him. He said if Lee liked war battles and history, then he would love this book," Jamie insisted.

With a smile, Lee silently jogged down the stairs into the kitchen, leaving the boys to finish their conversation alone. He filled a glass of water for Amanda and returned to their bedroom, where he found her standing beside one of the bassinets set up along the wall across from their bed. He placed the glass on her nightstand and moved to stand beside her. "It won't be much longer," she whispered as she ran her hand along the edge of the pink bumper.

Lee held his breath for a second, then asked, "Is it time? Are you in labor?"

"No, Sweetheart, I'm not in labor. It's not time. I'm just thinking in a week or two… who knows, maybe three, we will have two little girls occupying our room with us," Amanda replied softly. She rubbed her belly with one hand, the other still fingering the edge of the bassinet.

Lee covered her hands with his as he pressed his body closer to hers. With a gentle sigh, he pressed his lips against her temple and whispered, "I can't wait."

Amanda turned into his arms and lifted her chin to meet his lips. "Neither can I. I want to see them, hold them, smell them. I want them to come now, but at the same time, I don't want them to come too early," she rambled quietly.

"I want to know if they're going to have your eyes or my nose," Lee added. "Who's personality they're going to have. I mean, we already know one of them doesn't listen very well, so she's already taking after her mother," he teased.

"Uh-huh," Amanda smiled. "And I'm sure the other one is going to have a little bit of a wild streak in her, just like her daddy."

Lee tipped his head to the side and stuck his tongue out playfully. "What about you? Always finding your way into trouble, even when you think you're not going to. What if one of them is like that? What am I going to do with two of you?" he laughed.

Amanda slid her hands up Lee's arms to his shoulders then behind his head where she toyed with the soft hair at the nape of his neck. In this position, her belly was pressed firmly against Lee's midsection. She sighed happily, "We'll figure it out. As long as they are both healthy and happy, we will figure it all out."

Before Lee had a chance to reply, one of the babies rolled slightly. Lee could feel the movement against his stomach and laughed, "I can't imagine what that feels like on the inside." He placed his hands on either side of her belly and held her, anticipating another movement. Several seconds later, he was not disappointed. "It's almost time for bed, little ones, so don't get any ideas, now," he muttered in a stern but playful tone.

"I don't think they're listening," Amanda shook her head as she felt another shift, this time closer to her spine. She inhaled sharply when she felt pins and needles start traveling down her leg. "Not again," she gasped.

"What? What's going on, Amanda?" Lee questioned, his eyes wide and filled with fear.

"Help me back to the bed. Maybe if I get off my feet, it will go away," Amanda requested as she slowly began shuffling across the room, each movement shooting pain across her lower back.

Lee followed closely, his hands reaching out to steady her until she reached the edge of the bed. She leaned forward onto her elbows and exhaled loudly as the pain began to dissipate. Lee stood helpless as he tried to determine what was going on. "Amanda? Are you okay? Do I need to call the doctor?" he fired off rapidly.

"No, no, I'm better now," Amanda sighed. "I just needed to get off my feet, see." She slowly crawled forward onto the bed and turned onto her left side. "I'm okay," she assured him again as she rubbed her belly with her right hand.

Lee sat on the bed beside her and covered her hand with his once more. "Hey, if there's something going on, you need to tell me."

"Sweetheart, I'm fine. I was just standing for too long, that's all. We're fine, now, let's get some sleep," Amanda stated. Lee watched her carefully as he pressed the lamp switch, enveloping the room in near darkness, save for the soft light glowing from their bathroom. He settled into bed beside her but not before he reached out to hold her hand. A few weeks prior, Amanda discovered snuggling against Lee to sleep was becoming more difficult as the girls were more active. They found holding hands as they laid side by side helped ease their desire to be close to one another. "Just think, in a few more weeks, my belly won't be in our way," she whispered.

"And I can hold you in my arms in bed without getting poked," Lee teased back with a squeeze of his hand.

"True," Amanda agreed. "Sweetheart?" she whispered softly.

"What's wrong?" Lee immediately replied as he pushed up onto his elbow to peer at her in the dim light.

Amanda caressed his hand with her thumb as she asked, "Do you think tomorrow we can decide on names? I'm just getting nervous, the closer we get."

Lee relaxed against the pillows and chuckled, "Yes, tomorrow, come hell or high water, we will decide on names. Now, let's get some sleep."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Yeah, Billy, I'm on my way," Lee shook his head just before he hung up the phone. Across the room, Amanda waited for an explanation, one eyebrow raised. Lee smoothed his tie before he ran his hand through his hair nervously. "That was Billy. He needs me at the office."

"So I gathered," Amanda replied. "What's going on, Lee?"

Lee stood and tucked his shirt into his pants a little more. "Nothing… really. Sorenson was spotted again last night, so he wants all hands on deck," he explained.

Amanda shook her head, "No, Billy promised you weren't going to be anywhere near that mess."

Lee placed his hands on her arms and stated firmly, "I won't be. I'm just heading there to help out while everyone else is sent to search for him. It's becoming an all-out manhunt from what he just explained."

Amanda reached up and brushed her hand down the lapel of his jacket, "I don't like this, Lee. I don't like this one bit."

Lee leaned forward and pecked her lips in a brief kiss as he stated, "There's nothing to worry about. Believe me. I'm going to be down in the bullpen all day, pushing buttons and passing files around. That's it."

"You're sure?" Amanda demanded.

"Yes, I'm sure. Now, come on. Let's go downstairs. I'm sure the boys aren't awake yet. You, know, it's funny, not hearing them bickering in the morning before school, now that they are on summer break," Lee smiled.

Amanda slapped at his arm, playfully as she followed him to the bedroom door, "They don't fight all the time."

"I'm not saying they do, it's just most mornings, before school, they had a way of livening up the house with their antics," Lee teased. He waited until Amanda began her slow descent down the steps. "You okay?" he asked when she paused on one step.

"Yeah, just a twinge," she breathed before she continued down the stairs again.

The kitchen was quiet, just as Lee predicted it would be. He poured himself a cup of coffee and a glass of juice for Amanda. "Do you want me to make you something before I go?" he asked as he took a sip from the steaming mug in his hands.

Amanda shook her head, "No, I'll wait for Mother. The boys should be up soon since Joe is taking them golfing today. And I'm not really hungry right now."

Lee pursed his lips and pondered her statement, "Amanda, are you sure you're feeling all right? It's not like you to not be hungry in the morning. I mean, how many times have you reminded me 'breakfast is the most important meal of the day'?"

"Lee, I'm fine. I'm just not hungry right now. I'm just going to take my juice, lie down on the couch, and watch the news. That's it," she insisted.

"Okay, okay. Here, I'll get you settled," Lee bobbed his head as he lifted her glass and held out his hand. Amanda allowed him to guide her into the family room. She sat back against the pillows and lifted her feet up onto the cushions beside her. Lee tucked a pillow beneath her knees and brushed a kiss across her forehead before he stood up and headed toward the hallway to the garage. "I'll call you later."

"I'll be looking forward to it," Amanda called back with a smile.

Less than an hour later, Lee was in the closet elevator, heading to the bullpen. As he waited for the doors to open, the pager on his belt sounded out, chirping loudly in the small space. Lee closed his eyes, groaned, then looked at the number displayed. He was surprised to see it was Billy's office extension, not Amanda trying to contact him. The doors opened, and he quickly sidestepped the standing agents in the hall, talking. He made it to Billy's office, where he found Billy and Francine waiting for him. "What took you so long?" Billy snapped.

"What do you mean? I got here as fast as I could," Lee retorted.

"Sorenson called," Francine interjected. "He said he has a surprise for us."

Lee narrowed his eyes at her and shook his head, "What do you mean a surprise?"

Francine raised her shoulders, "I don't know. That's what he said. 'Keep your eyes open for a big surprise.' He called it in just after Billy got off the phone with you."

"This is a real mess. Sorenson could be anywhere right now, doing God knows what," Billy pursed his lips tightly. He slumped down into his chair and tapped his hand on his desk. "Francine, was there anything else in that message… background noise, a train going by, anything?" he questioned.

"Nothing. Relay picked it up, but he wasn't on long enough to triangulate the call. They couldn't even find a starting point," Francine explained.

Lee leaned forward onto his hands on the edge of Billy's desk, "Dammit. So we have no idea what he's planning? There haven't been any other clues, hints, anything left by him anywhere?"

Francine lifted her hand and pointed at Lee, "You are not involved in this. You are only here to help back me up, which means my desk is right out there, and you are going to stay there until Sorenson is found. I promised Amanda I would keep you out of trouble."

"You promised Amanda you were going to keep _me_ out of trouble?" Lee gawked at her. "Maybe you should take your own advice and keep yourself out of trouble."

"No, I agree with Francine. You're not leaving this bullpen until this is over unless it's necessary," Billy agreed.

Lee shook his head, "Well, then, can I at least get my keys and the reports I was working on in my office and bring them down here? That is if you think it's safe enough for me to go upstairs and come back down again."

Billy pressed his lips tightly once more and stated, "Fine. But don't take all day. I need everyone out searching for him. I don't need to be worried about you traipsing around town too."

"Traipsing around… Billy, I'm not some freshman agent. Not to mention, I have a lot at stake right now. I'm sure as hell not going to go after Sorenson on my own if that's what you're thinking," Lee lashed back.

"Sorenson has me so twisted I don't know what to think!" Billy replied.

Lee nodded, "I get it. Okay. I'm just going to head up there, and I'll be back in ten minutes." He left the office and hurried to the elevator without waiting for Billy to reply. He smiled and greeted Mrs. Marston before he took the stairs two at a time. He hurried into the Q Bureau, where he collected the files he needed and headed back down the stairs.

"Oh, Scarecrow," Mrs. Marston stopped him before he disappeared into the elevator. "This was left for you on my desk this morning." She pushed a small package wrapped in pink paper, tied together with a pink bow. A handwritten tag hung off the ribbon that read, "Scarecrow" "Whoever left it, wrapped it beautifully," she added as she handed the gift to Lee.

"Thank you, Mrs. Marston," Lee smiled as he took the package and placed it onto the files in his hands.

"You have a nice day now," she smiled at him as he stepped into the elevator and closed the door. Lee found his way to Francine's desk and waved to Billy and Francine.

Francine opened Billy's office door and crossed the room to stand by Lee. "Oh, how sweet, another baby present," she teased.

Lee couldn't help but smile, "Yeah, it seems like we've been getting at least one or two a day, the last few weeks." He sat down in Francine's chair and looked for a card. When he didn't see one initially, he tugged on the ribbon and smiled at Francine once more, "Card must be inside." He gently lifted the lid and peered into the box. Immediately his face went white. "Francine, get Billy. Right now. I think I just found Sorenson's surprise."

Inside the box, Lee was staring at a small but powerful bomb, the timer slowly ticking down.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Lee took several shallow breaths as he tried to determine the exact configuration of the bomb as Francine immediately yelled out, "Clear this room. Get everyone out!" She scrambled to Billy's office, where she threw the door open, "Billy, you need to get out here!"

Billy scowled at her, "What now, Francine?"

"Sorenson sent Lee a little present, and right now, he is sitting at my desk with it," Francine tried to state calmly, although her eyes continued to dart back and forth between Lee and Billy's faces.

"He did what?" Billy roared. He moved around his desk and began ordering everyone, "Get out! Get the bomb squad up here, pronto. I want this entire section cleared!"

The agents in the room gathered what they could and immediately departed through the large glass doors into the hallway. Someone triggered the alarms, and soon, the floor was filled with red and white flashing lights, buzzing alerts, and an electronic voice announcing the commands to find the nearest exits.

Standing beside Lee, Billy now examined the device with him. "Looks like a mercury switch with a redundant backup. I must have snapped the seal when I opened the box. Any of these wires could set off the C-4," Lee exhaled.

"And that timer is set for four hours," Billy observed. "How the hell did this even make it through the door?"

"I don't know. Mrs. Marston said it was on her desk this morning with my name on it. I figured it was a gift for the girls, you know," Lee explained. He carefully lowered his elbows onto the desk to balance the box lid.

Francine lifted the phone, punched an extension, and immediately commanded, "Where is that damn bomb squad? We need them here now! Well, that's not good enough. Tell them to move faster!" She dropped the phone carefully back onto the cradle and nodded, "They're on their way. Jacobs is bringing the liquid nitrogen."

"Good, maybe we can freeze that mercury long enough to get Lee's hands off the box. Dammit! I should have told you to stay home!" Billy declared.

Lee looked up at his friend and mentor, "No, don't do that, Billy. This isn't your fault any more than it is mine or Francine's. Sorenson is the one responsible, and he knew exactly what he was doing."

"But how did he know to leave that package for you?" Billy demanded.

"He's got his ways. You know that. It's not like Amanda's pregnancy has been a secret for the last few months. We don't know how long he's been here, never mind keeping tabs on any of us," Lee reasoned. He exhaled slowly once more and looked around, "Where the hell are they?"

Francine opened her mouth to calm Lee when the phone rang beside her. She immediately recognized it was an outside line, so she lifted the phone and stated, "Francine Desmond."

"Francine!" Dotty's voice filtered through the phone. "Francine, it's Dotty. Amanda's mother. I need Lee. Do you know where he might be or how I can reach him right now?"

Francine looked at Lee and mouthed, "It's Amanda's mother." Lee shook his head, frantically. "You know, Dotty, as a matter of fact, his hands are a little full at the moment. Can I have him call you back in, oh, say an hour or so?"

Lee cringed when he heard Dotty's voice snap, "An hour?"

"Well, it could be sooner than that," Francine rushed out. "Can I give him a message?"

On the other end of the phone, Dotty was twisting the cord between her fingers nervously, "Yes. Please tell him that I'm worried about Amanda. She's not acting like herself… she doesn't want to eat, she's fidgety…" she paused. "I'm just worried something's going to happen, and Lee isn't going to be here." From somewhere in the background, Francine could hear Amanda yelling out, "I'm fine, Mother!" Dotty shuffled the phone slightly as she whispered loudly, "She was like this the day before she went into labor with Philip… irritable with no appetite."

"I'll make sure he gets the message, Dotty. Don't you worry. And as soon as he has a minute, I'll have him call you," Francine assured her with a pained expression as she watched Lee readjust his elbows on the desk.

"Well, I should hope so. But let him know, I have an appointment this morning, so I'll be gone for a bit. Joe already picked up the boys, and Amanda promised me she wasn't going to get off the couch while I was gone. I really hate leaving her, but you know how hard it is to get those doctor's appointments scheduled. If I cancel now, they're going to charge me for the visit and who knows how long it will be before I can get back in there to see him. You have to keep up with your health, Francine. It's very important," Dotty babbled.

Francine nodded slowly, "I will. And I'll let Lee know." She carefully dropped the receiver back onto the cradle.

"Well? What'd she have to say?" Lee demanded.

"Um… I don't really know. She's worried about Amanda going into labor because she has to go out to a doctor's appointment," Francine blinked. "She also said something like, Amanda was irritable and had no appetite the day before she went into labor with Philip, whatever that means."

Lee inhaled and exhaled slowly, "Okay, so it wasn't an emergency. Just Dotty being Dotty."

"See, nothing to worry about. Dotty being Dotty. Sounds like she's seeing signs that aren't really there," Billy assured Lee.

In the hall, they saw a small group of men wearing tactical bomb tech gear. "Look, the bomb squad is here. All right, Scarecrow, you just sit tight, and they'll have that bomb disarmed in no time. Then you are going right home. I don't need any more incidents today," Billy announced.

The small group of six men entered the bullpen. "Where is it?" one man asked.

"Right here," Lee called out. He was still studying the bomb, trying to visually trace each colored wire back to its source but was hindered by a section covered by C-4 explosive.

The group approached Lee tentatively. One man stepped forward and asked, "Scarecrow, what can you tell me about the device?"

"Um… mercury switch, redundant backup detonator from what I can see, C-4," Lee rattled off.

"Good," the heavily dressed man assured him. "Now, do you think you can shift the device around so we can get more access to it?"

Lee tried to turn the small package in his hands. The ribbon on the bottom of the box made it difficult to shift against the desktop. "No, it's sticking to the desk," he stated.

"Can you try to lift it and turn it?" the man directed.

Lee exhaled again. He tried to lift the package with shaky hands, but when the mercury slid slightly in the small tube, he lowered it again and shook his head. "No."

"All right then. We are going to use the liquid nitrogen to try to freeze the mercury long enough to rotate the package and get your hands off it," the tech explained. Lee nodded slowly and waited until the bomb tech retrieved the liquid nitrogen canister and wand from another member of his team. The tech looked at Billy and Francine and stated, "You folks should get out of here. Just in case anything goes wrong."

"No, I'm not leaving my man here, alone," Billy stated firmly.

Francine nodded her head in agreement, "Not in a million years."

Lee gave the two of them a weak smile as he muttered, "Thanks."

"Now, you may feel a cold blast on your hands for a few seconds, but don't worry. It's not going to hurt you. I'm going to direct the stream at the switch. Once you see frost forming around the tube, nod your head, and Agent Davis is going to step in and take the package from you," the tech explained. "Do you understand the directions?"

Lee exhaled nervously, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I understand. Just get it over with!" Billy and Francine glanced over at each other and took two steps to get out of the way of Agent Davis's path to the desk.

"Ready? Here we go," the bomb tech stated. From the wand in his hand, a white mist appeared, directed at the small tube the mercury was contained in.

Lee held his breath as he watched frost begin to appear on the glass. Suddenly, something caught his attention. "Stop!" he commanded. The tech lifted the wand and stared at Lee, confused. "The timer just sped up. Now, we only have three hours left," he explained as he swallowed hard.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The tech dropped the wand and leaned over the desk to inspect the timer, "That looks like it's counting back fine now."

"If you call the timer to the bomb in my hands speeding up fine, sure, we'll go with that," Lee snapped sarcastically.

"Calm down, Scarecrow," Billy reprimanded him. Lee glared back but kept silent. "Jerry, what other ideas do you have up your sleeve?" Billy asked the bomb tech.

Jerry leaned against the cubicle partition and folded one heavily clad arm over the other, the liquid nitrogen wand dangling from his fingers. "Well, I think we need to get a mirror under there to take a look-see at what else we might be dealing with. We already know he's got a temperature sensor in there, so I wonder what other goodies we might find," he stated.

Lee dropped his head and groaned, "Do you think we could move this along? I don't know how much longer I can sit here holding up this lid."

Jerry motioned to another tech and traded him the liquid nitrogen wand for a small dental mirror with a retractable handle. He held the mirror up then gently motioned to Francine and Billy, "You two may want to take a few steps back… you know, just in case."

Lee jerked his head up and demanded, "Just in case what?"

Jerry held his hands up and stated, "Well, you know. Just in case… boom." He exaggerated his point by mimicking an explosion with his hands.

"Let's not go boom, and then we don't have to worry about them backing up," Lee stated.

"Point taken," Jerry nodded. "Scarecrow, I need you to hold still and try not to move while I do this. I'm going to stand behind you and use the mirror to see what's under that timer and the C-4."

Lee exhaled slowly, "You don't have to worry about me, Jerry. I'm not planning on making any sudden moves if that's what you're worried about."

Jerry carefully maneuvered the small mirror into the box and stopped. "Chris, get over here and see this," he commanded. Another agent, fully dressed in bomb gear, approached. "I think you've seen a configuration like this before. Tell me what you think." He handed Chris the mirror and stepped away, giving Chris his spot behind Lee.

Chris carefully maneuvered the mirror into the box and underneath the timer casing. "I see two red, two yellow, two green, two black, two white and maybe a few more… it's hard to say from this angle," he called out.

"Can you see which wire entered the timer case?" Jerry questioned.

"From this angle… yes, sir. And I think if we cut this red wire, we might be good," Chris stated.

Lee looked over his shoulder at the tech, "Might be good? That doesn't sound like such good odds to me."

Chris gave him a smile from over this neck and chin protector padding, "Relax, Scarecrow. We see this stuff every day. I'm just going to slip a precision flush cutter in there, and you will be just fine." Chris held his hand out, and immediately Jerry dropped a red-handled tool into his glove. Chris carefully guided the sharp blades into the box and, without jostling any of the other wires, managed to isolate the red wire in question. "One small squeeze," Chris stated as he tightened the handle together. "See… no sweat… oh no," Chris stammered.

"Oh, no? What, oh, no?" Lee demanded. He looked down, and the timer advanced another sixty minutes rapidly before it returned to the slow countdown, the timer displaying just under two hours remaining. "One small squeeze, he says. No sweat. No sweat, my..." Lee muttered as a bead of perspiration began to run down the side of his face.

"This is way more complicated than we thought," Chris explained as he moved away from Lee.

Jerry looked at the tech and questioned, "What just happened?"

"I'll tell you what happened," Lee snapped before Chris had a chance to answer. "Your boy over there cut the red wire, and we just lost another hour. That's what happened."

Chris skulked to the back of the group of men still standing near the glass doors. "George, you get over here and take a look," Jerry commanded.

Another tech stepped forward slowly. He took the mirror and stepped behind Lee. He stared at the device for a long minute before he took the mirror and began inspecting the corners of the timer casing. "Sir, I think if we take the casing off, we could get a better look," he declared.

Jerry looked over and demanded, "Get him a screwdriver." Chris pulled one from his pant leg pocket and handed it to Jerry, who then, in turn, handed it to George.

"Hey, hey, hey, before we start unscrewing anything, you sure that's what you want to do?" Lee stammered.

George nodded, "Don't worry, Scarecrow. I'm confident there is nothing attached to the timer casing. All of the wires pass through one hole in the box."

"And what if something is attached to the screws? Or what if the screws have to be removed in a specific order? I mean, it wouldn't be the first time we've seen a configuration like that. Remember, Billy?" Lee questioned.

Billy nodded, "Yes, I remember. But we're not talking about a nuclear weapon here. Let the man do his job, will you?"

George began meticulously loosening the screws around the digital display until he was able to gently lift the black covering off, revealing the heart of the device. Inside was a maze of circuits and wires. "Let me see that mirror again?" he requested. Jerry handed him the mirror, which George began carefully examining the starting point of each wire. "Sir, I think I understand this. If we can isolate the one wire that's just connected to the timer, we should be able to stop it."

Lee gave a tentative nod and asked, "So, you think you can figure it out?"

"Yes, Scarecrow. If you can just sit patiently, and keep that lid from moving, I should be able to isolate the timer wire," George assured him.

"I'll do what I can," Lee shifted his elbows once more to brace himself.

George leaned close to Lee, the padding on his chest, pressing up against Lee's shoulder, as he used the mirror to follow one wire. "Black is hot," he called out. He moved to the next wire in the circuit and called out again, "Yellow is hot." He carefully slid the mirror between two small circuit boards and stated, "Another wire here. This one's blue. Not sure where it goes yet." He began extracting the mirror from the tight space when the pager on Lee's belt began to alert. Lee jumped nervously. George immediately tried to withdraw the mirror only it caught one of the green wires and jerked it loose. "Oops," George uttered as the timer jumped forward once more.

The pager sounded a second time, then a third in rapid succession. "Francine, you're gonna have to get it and see what's going on," Lee informed her after he swallowed hard.

Francine crossed the room and reached between Lee and the arm of the chair to tug the small plastic device off his belt. She stared at the display and tapped the down arrow. "It's Amanda, I think. But it says 9-1-1."

"Oh, no. That was our code," Lee's face lost all color. "Francine, you have to call her and find out what's happening."

"But, Lee, she's going to know something's wrong if I call her," Francine insisted.

Lee shook his head, "No, just tell her I left the pager with you because I was going down into Records, and I wouldn't have a signal down there. Please. Just do it."

Francine looked at Billy, who only pressed his lips together. She lifted the phone and dialed Lee and Amanda's home number. "Lee?" Amanda's husky voice immediately asked. "Hi, Amanda. No, it's Francine," Francine stated.

"Francine, where is Lee?" Amanda questioned.

"He… he… he's down in Records right now. He left his pager with me just in case," Francine lied.

"I need him to come home right now," Amanda stated firmly.

Francine looked at Lee's expectant face as she asked, "Is everything all right?"

Amanda sighed on the other end of the phone as she stated, "No, everything is not all right. My mother left to go to an appointment ten minutes ago, and my water just broke."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

As Francine hung up the phone, Lee closed his eyes and began whispering, "This is just a dream… no, it's a nightmare. A damn nightmare. This isn't really happening. I'm going to wake up, in my own bed, and Amanda's going to be sound asleep next to me. Everything is going to be fine." He snapped his eyes open and stared at the timer before him with less than an hour left.

"I'm sorry to break this to you, Lee, but this isn't one of your wild fantasies. Even though I am here with you," Francine informed him with a raised eyebrow.

"Button it, Francine," Billy stated firmly.

Lee exhaled, his face still white. "Francine," he called, his voice barely above a whisper. "Francine, I need you to do something for me." Francine moved closer to the desk and leaned closer to Lee. "I need you to go to the house. Take Amanda to the hospital. Do not tell her what is happening right now," he commanded softly.

"Lee, she's going to know something's wrong the second I pull up," Francine shook her head.

"No, lie to her… tell her I was stuck under a pile of boxes, Stanley grabbed me, Beaman locked me in his office… anything… just get her to the hospital and stay with her. You won't even have to do anything. Just hold her hand, remind her to breathe… she'll do all the work, believe me," Lee insisted.

Francine shook her head, "Scarecrow, no. I won't lie to your pregnant wife while she's in labor." She looked back at Billy for help. All he could do was raise his hands slightly, but that was enough to give Francine an idea. "Lee, let me take the box. We can change places. You know my hands are steadier than yours anyway. Then you can go get Amanda and get her to the hospital."

"No! I won't let you take my place. Dammit, Francine! I won't let you die in my… no… just make sure… make sure Amanda knows I love her… and my girls… if I don't make it out of this… make sure…" Lee's voice choked up with emotion at the thought he might never see his daughters.

"Stop thinking like that, Scarecrow. We'll get out of this. We've been in tighter spots before," Francine stated.

Lee looked up at her, his eyes glistening with tears, "Francine, please. Get Amanda to the hospital." Francine took one last look at Billy, who gave her a subtle nod. Without a word, she grabbed her purse off the edge of the desk and ran for the elevator.

"Don't worry, Lee. You're going to be there for Amanda and your girls. Just hold tight," Billy assured him. He looked over at Jerry and demanded, "Now, what? Your carelessness has given my man less than an hour before time's up."

Jerry looked around at the other men and stated, "Now we pick this apart, piece by piece."

"As long as I'm not the one ending up in pieces," Lee interjected as he blinked rapidly to clear the tears from his eyes.

Francine drove as fast as she dared to Lee and Amanda's house. She entered through the garage and found Amanda in the kitchen, leaning on the counter, exhaling slowly. "Amanda? You okay?" she asked tentatively.

"Yeah, but the contractions have started. Lee and I should probably get to the hospital," Amanda replied, her head still hanging down as the contraction faded. She looked up to see Francine alone. "Where is Lee?"

Francine smiled at Amanda, "Well, his hands were a little full, so he asked me to come check on you… you know, just in case this was another false alarm."

"Well, this definitely isn't a false alarm. I got up to go to the bathroom, and my water broke right when I got in there. Then the first contraction started a few minutes later," Amanda explained. "Um, Francine, can I ask you to do something for me?"

Francine reached out and touched Amanda's hand, "Sure, what do you need?"

"Can you get me another jumper from my closet? I'd go up and get it myself, but I'm afraid I might not make it back down the stairs," Amanda admitted.

Francine looked down at Amanda's clothes and noticed the wet material, "Jumper, sure. Any one in particular?"

"No, thank you. I'll just call Lee while you're up there and-" Amanda began.

"No, no, don't call Lee. I'll call him and let him know I'm taking you to the hospital, and he can meet us there," Francine interrupted her. "You have a phone in your room, right?" Francine didn't wait for her reply. She took the stairs, two by two, and, as soon as she entered Lee and Amanda's bedroom, she closed the door and headed for the phone. She dialed her direct extension and waited.

Billy answered on the second ring, "Francine? What's going on with Amanda?"

"Well, from the looks and sound of things, she's definitely in labor. I'm taking her to the hospital now. What's going on with Lee?" Francine asked.

Billy glanced over at the group now surrounding Lee. They'd managed to slice the sides of the cardboard box open enough that three of the techs were meticulously tracking each wire. Sweat ran down the sides of Lee's face as he sat, holding the lid up. "They're still working on it. But they better figure out something fast. They've only got another twenty minutes to go," he stated in a low tone.

"Well then, I guess Amanda and I are off to the hospital," Francine sighed. She dropped the phone onto the cradle and quickly found the requested jumper. She jogged back down the steps with a smile plastered on her face. "Here you go, Amanda. I hope this one is okay." She handed Amanda the hanger.

"It'll be perfect," Amanda assured her. "I'm just going to get changed, and then we should go." She started her slow waddle back toward the bathroom and stopped. "Francine, my bag is already in my Jeep, so would you mind driving that? To be honest, I don't know if I'll be able to get into your car either," Amanda laughed.

Francine blinked several times before she asked, "You want me to drive your Jeep? The Wagoneer?" Amanda nodded her reply. "Today just keeps getting better and better," she smiled. Amanda disappeared through the doorway, only to reappear several minutes later. She was breathing shallowly, exhaling on each step. "Amanda?" Francine froze.

Amanda held her hand up and inhaled deeply before she exhaled loudly. "I'm okay now. Just another contraction. At this rate, these girls are going to be here before you know it," Amanda stated.

"Well, let's get you to the hospital then," Francine did her best to guide Amanda toward the garage.

"Can you tell Lee to meet us there?" Amanda questioned.

Francine gave her a weak smile and stated, "Already done."

Back at the agency, Lee was staring at the numbers on the timer still ticking down. They had less than three minutes left. The bomb techs finally isolated all but three wires - a red one, a yellow one, and a blue one. They were contemplating their options when Lee asked, "What's the hold-up?"

"Well, sir, we're not confident which one is the correct wire. All three tuck underneath the timer, and we don't have a visual on which one leads to the main power supply," one tech explained.

Lee pressed his lips together and looked at Billy. A memory of he and Amanda kneeling side by side in a cemetery, a nuclear bomb before them, flashed through his mind. "It's the blue one, right, Billy?" he nodded.

Billy narrowed his eyes, tilted his head, and said, "Scarecrow, I'm not sure you're the one qualified to make that decision."

Lee relaxed slightly and smiled, "I'm going with Amanda on this one. It's the blue wire." The techs studied the three wires as the timer continued to count down.

"Lee, just because you want to get to the hospital doesn't mean you should make any rash choice," Billy stated.

Lee looked at the techs and nodded his head with confidence, "Cut the blue wire. I know it's the blue one. Amanda knew… so I'm going with her gut."

The techs looked around the room, confused. "Sir, no one here is named Amanda," one of them replied tentatively.

"Just cut the damn blue wire!" Lee instructed. He exhaled loudly as the timer continued to tick down. "What the hell are you waiting for?" he demanded.

One tech held up a pair of wire cutters and looked at Jerry. Jerry shrugged his shoulders first, then waved his hand, "Everyone get down. If Scarecrow's wrong… well… you all better brace for impact." Everyone in the room scattered to the areas furthest away from the desk Lee was sitting at, leaving Lee and one tech together.

"Just cut it," Lee commanded. The tech raised the cutters and carefully lowered the sharp blades into the box. "Cut it!" Lee repeated. The tech made eye contact with Lee, who insisted again, "Cut the blue wire!" Slowly the tech began to tighten the handles closed as Lee continuously repeated, "Cut the wire. Just cut the blue wire. The blue wire. Cut the blue wire." Lee squeezed his eyes shut as the timer ticked down to twenty seconds. Sweat ran down the sides of his face before it pooled against the collar of his dress shirt. "Cut the damn wire!" Lee stated between clenched teeth. He only vaguely heard the gently click of the blades as the tech snipped the blue wire.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Two hours later, Lee ran into the hospital, searching for Amanda. He was directed to the maternity floor, where he found Francine at the line of payphones frantically dialing a number. "Where is she?" Lee demanded breathlessly.

"Lee! Oh, thank God. I've been trying to call the agency, but the floor is still on lockdown. When you didn't show up right away… I…" Francine rushed out before she threw her arms around him.

"Hey, I get it. You thought the worst. I understand. I would've been out of there sooner except once they got the timer stopped, they still had to finish disarming the mercury switch. I got here as soon as I could. How's Amanda?" he tried to reassure his friend.

Francine pointed to the room with the yellow door. "In there, but I have to tell you, Lee. She's got me worried," Francine admitted.

"Worried? Why? What's going on?" Lee demanded as he took several long strides in the direction of Amanda's room.

"She stopped talking. One minute she was rambling away about trying to get a hold of her mother because you weren't here yet, and the next, she just stopped. She grabbed my hand as the contraction hit and, boy, she's stronger than I ever gave her credit for, but after that, she just stopped talking… not a peep," Francine explained as she followed Lee. "The doctor is in there now, checking her. He asked me to wait out here. I was trying to call Dotty's doctor's office again, but they just keep telling me they can't give me any information. Don't these people understand I don't want information from them, I'm just trying to get it to her?"

Lee stopped just outside the door and nodded, "We were afraid this might happen. When Amanda was shot in California, once she finally woke up, she began to internalize her pain. The more pain she was in, the less she spoke or responded. It took a lot for her to get over that. She kept saying she didn't want to be a bother to the nurses, so she would stay in pain instead of pressing that damn button. Her doctor was afraid she might do that again. I better get in there." He began to push the door open but stopped and turned back to Francine. "Hey, thanks. It meant a lot to me to know that she was in good hands all this time."

"Go to your wife. She needs you. I'll catch up later," Francine reached out and touched his hand before he disappeared into the room.

"Mr. Stetson, so nice of you to join us," Dr. Johansen teased as Lee crossed the room to be by Amanda's side.

Lee immediately grabbed for Amanda's hand, "Hey, I'm here now. That counts for something, right? My hands were full at work with something a little unpredictable."

"Well, just think, in a few hours, your hands will be full of two little somethings that can be unpredictable as well," Dr. Johansen laughed.

Amanda squeezed Lee's hand instinctively as another contraction began but still remained silent. "How is she, Doc?" Lee asked nervously.

Dr. Johansen lowered the sheet draped over Amanda's knees and smiled. "She's going to be fine, but she's going to need you pretty soon. It seems she's gotten a lot quieter the last half hour or so. Maybe you can coax that out of her," he nodded. "I'll be back to check on her again soon. It's not going to be long now." He left the room, leaving Lee and Amanda alone.

Amanda inhaled and exhaled slowly as the contraction continued. She squeezed Lee's hand tightly until her body finally relaxed for the moment. Lee reached up and brushed her damp hair off her forehead, "Hey. How you doing?"

Amanda's glazed expression changed as she focused on his worried face. "Sweetheart," she whispered. She reached up and cradled his jaw in her hand. "I was afraid you weren't going to make it. I thought something happened because you weren't here, and Francine wasn't really saying anything about where you were."

"Shhh, I'm here now, and I'm fine. I'll tell you all about it another time because, right now, we have something else we need to focus on," Lee assured her before he took her hand in his and kissed her fingers. He reached out and laid his hand on her belly, expecting to feel one of the twins moving. Instead, the muscles of her stomach were quivering slightly. "Dr. Johansen said it's not going to be long now. Are you ready for this?" he teased.

"Are you ready for this, Big Fella?" Amanda smiled back at him.

"I can't wait," Lee replied. Under his hand, he could feel the muscles tense and harden as another contraction began.

Amanda grabbed his hand again as she gritted her teeth and informed him, "Here comes another one." Lee just watched as she fought to keep her breathing under control with slow even breaths.

"You're doing great, Amanda. Just keep breathing," Lee encouraged.

"Easy for you to say. You just got here. I've been doing this for hours," Amanda snapped back.

Surprised by her sudden outburst, Lee covered her hand with both of his, and asked, "Do you want me to have Francine come back in here?"

Amanda dropped her head back and laughed loudly as the pain finally dissipated. "No. I think she's scared anyway," she admitted.

Lee looked over at the machine, recording each contraction, "How long are they lasting?"

"About a minute now. And they're getting closer together, so about three to five minutes apart, I think," Amanda explained.

"Isn't that too soon? I mean, it's only been a few hours since your water broke, right?" Lee questioned.

Amanda covered their hands with her free one and said, "I think I was in labor this morning, only I didn't realize it. After you left, I just couldn't get comfortable. Then Mother and the boys got up, and they left, but then she called you before she went to her appointment, and I still don't think I knew what was going on. This is much different than it was with the boys."

"I'm so sorry I wasn't there," Lee leaned forward and brushed his lips across hers. Amanda reached up and buried her fingers into the fine hair at the base of his neck as he pressed his forehead to hers. They stayed entwined until the next contraction began. Amanda slid her hands down his chest, and instinctively grabbed his tie and yanked downward slowly. "Amanda… Amanda, my tie," Lee choked as she focused solely on breathing. "Amanda, I can't breathe," he whispered. He finally reached between them and managed to tug enough of the silk material through her fingers to give him room to loosen his tie. He pulled it off and tossed it onto the nearby chair. "Let's not let that happen again," he muttered.

"Sweetheart, can you get me some ice?" Amanda requested.

Lee scanned the room and located the small pink basin filled with ice chips. Beside the basin were a small matching cup and a small water pitcher. "Just ice? No water?" he asked as he moved across the room.

"Just ice," Amanda confirmed. She readily accepted the small cup and sucked a good-sized ice chip into her mouth. "I'm just getting so hot," she explained.

Lee spotted several washcloths and a towel on top of the nightstand. "Here, hang on," he stated. He stepped into the small en-suite bathroom and soaked the washcloth down with cold water. He returned to her bedside and began gently wiping the cold, wet cloth across her face and neck.

"Thank you, Sweetheart. That feels-" she was cut off as another contraction hit. This time she grabbed his wrist with both hands and began to pant, "Lee… I don't… know… how… much… longer… I can… do … this."

"Hey. Hey, you're doing great. Just hang in there, all right. You look beautiful… you're amazing, Amanda," Lee encouraged. He was trying to remember all the tricks he was taught during the labor and delivery classes they took.

"I look awful," Amanda laughed as she relaxed against the pillows once more.

"No, you look beautiful," Lee assured her as he kissed her lips again.

Lee smiled at his wife, stroked the cloth against her forehead and asked, "What else can I do?"

Amanda sighed, "I think I want to stand for a minute. Do you think you can help me?"

Lee looked at the monitors attached around Amanda's expansive belly. "Is that allowed?"

Amanda smiled and shifted her legs off the bed, "Yes, Sweetheart, and it's encouraged to get off my back for a while." She reached out and put her arms around Lee's neck to balance herself as she slid off the edge of the bed. She'd barely found her feet when the next contraction began. She held onto Lee tightly, her head hanging against his chest until it passed. "Oh, my, that was stronger than the last one," she admitted as soon as she could breathe normally.

"I don't know, Amanda, I think I liked it better when you were on your back," Lee stated tentatively.

"Isn't that how Amanda got into that position in the first place?" Francine teased from the doorway.

"Francine," Amanda groaned with a smile.

"I see you're feeling better now that Lee has arrived," Francine noted.

Amanda smiled up at Lee and nodded, "I am. Thank you. I hope I didn't scare you too much."

"Well, when Amanda Stetson stops talking, everyone should be scared. But that's not why I came back. We finally got a hold of Dotty, and she is on her way," Francine laughed. "I'll let you two get back to it." She stepped back into the hallway, allowing the door to close behind her.

Amanda hugged Lee close once more and whispered, "Are you really ready for this?"

"Dotty?" Lee teased back. "She doesn't scare me anymore."

"Not Mother…" Amanda's voice faded. "Here comes another one!" she groaned loudly and gripped Lee's shoulders tightly.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"It's not too late for that epidural, Amanda," Dr. Johansen reminded her after checking her again. "You still have a little ways to go before it's time for the big show."

Amanda shook her head, "No, thank you, Doctor. I brought both my boys into this world without medication, and I can do it again." She gritted her teeth and squeezed Lee's hand tightly as another contraction began.

Dr. Johansen waited patiently for the contraction to pass. He checked the heartbeat readouts for each of the twins and nodded. "You're doing great. The girls are tolerating the contractions fine, but I don't want to see you run out of energy halfway through. The epidural will allow you to rest before it's time to push, that's all."

"So, what you're saying is… this epidural… will just give Amanda a break from the pain for a while?" Lee confirmed.

"In a manner of speaking, yes. It will dull the pain enough to make it tolerable. She'll still feel plenty of pressure, but it won't hurt the way it does now," Dr. Johansen explained.

Amanda reached up and grabbed a fistful of Lee's shirt as she informed the room loudly, "I said no epidural, and I mean, no epidural."

Lee pried her hand loose as he assured her, "Okay, okay,… if that's what you want, then no epidural." He looked up at the doctor and asked, "How much longer do you think this is going to last?"

Dr. Johansen gave him a sympathetic smile as he stated, "Not too much longer. She's already at eight centimeters, so things could speed up." He patted Amanda's knee gently and reminded her, "You try to rest. You're going to need all the energy you have to push those girls out, remember that. I'll be back in about a half-hour to check on you again. I wouldn't be surprised if you're ready by then." He disappeared into the hallway, leaving Lee and Amanda alone once more.

In the waiting room, Francine was sitting, reading a magazine when Dotty rushed in. "Where is she? I knew today was going to be the day! I knew it!"

"Hello, Dotty. Amanda is in room three with Lee, but I don't think they're allowing anyone else in her room anymore," Francine stated, but her last statement fell on deaf ears as Dotty hurried down the hallway toward the yellow door. She pushed the door open and announced, "Amanda! I'm here now!"

Amanda, amidst another contraction, snapped, "Well, it's about time, Mother! Francine's been trying to get you all morning!"

Flustered, Dotty pressed her hand to her chest and tried to explain, "Well, when I got to the doctor's office, they ushered me into a room, and there I sat, just waiting and waiting. I poked my head out and caught the nurse after almost an hour, and she just told me the doctor was held up with an emergency but to hold tight. Well, I went back in and read all the magazines they had, and he still hadn't shown up, so I went to try again, and just as I opened the door, there he was!" Amanda didn't reply; she simply squeezed Lee's hand and groaned loudly. "Don't you want to know what he said?" Dotty questioned, oblivious to the concentrated look on Amanda's face as she tried to focus on her breathing.

"Not right now, Dotty, please," Lee shook his head. Amanda was squeezing his hand so tightly he was beginning to lose all feeling in his fingertips.

"Well," Dotty hmphed. "I can see you're a little busy right now, so I guess I'll just go and sit with Francine."

Amanda exhaled loudly when the contraction finally passed. "I'm sorry, Mother. How was your appointment?" Lee stared at her, dumbfounded.

Dotty sat on the edge of the bed and rested her hand on Amanda's arm. "Just fine, thank you. He said I'm in excellent shape for a woman my age. It's all about keeping up with your health, exercising, and eating right. Chasing the boys and Charlie around has been helping with that, too, I'm sure. But enough about me. How are you doing, Darling? Are you in a lot of pain?"

"Only during the contractions, Mother," Amanda sighed. Lee managed to wrestle his hand free from Amanda's and took a few moments to stroke at her face with the damp cloth again. "Thank you, Sweetheart," she whispered before closing her eyes.

Lee continued to wipe Amanda's face and neck gently as he stated, "Dotty, I'm glad everything is just fine, but I think Amanda needs to rest between these contractions, so if you wouldn't mind…" He let the rest of his statement hang in the air as he focused solely on Amanda.

Dotty stood, kissed Amanda's forehead, and whispered, "I love you, Darling. Like Lee said, you need your rest. I'll be right down the hall if you need me." She walked around the bed but stopped beside Lee to give him a small hug, "If you need a break, you know where to find me."

Lee grasped her hand and nodded, "Thank you, Dotty."

"Take good care of her. I know how tough this is going to be on her… I saw it with both Phillip and Jamie… I was there for both of them. She's going to need you. Trust me," Dotty explained.

"What do you mean, you were there? Joe didn't?" Lee asked.

Dotty gave him a warm smile, "Joe couldn't handle the sight of blood. The first sign of it and he was out like a light. Don't get me wrong. He tried, but when things got going… well, let's just say Amanda knew I would be there for her no matter what."

"Thanks, Dotty," Lee pressed his lips together and nodded at her revelation. He continued to caress Amanda's face lightly with the damp cloth as she rested, and Dotty disappeared into the hallway. When he heard the door click softly behind him, Lee spoke, "Amanda."

"Mmmm," she breathed. Her eyes were still closed, and she was taking slow deep breaths to calm herself before the next contraction began.

"Why didn't you tell me your mother was there when the boys were born?" he questioned softly.

Amanda's eyes fluttered open as she gave her head a slight shake, "Because I wasn't sure how you'd feel if I asked if she could be here for the girls."

"Amanda, now I feel like a heel," Lee admitted. He reached down and took her hand gently in his as he added, "If you want her to be here, just say it."

Amanda immediately gripped Lee's hand as an intense contraction began. She gritted her teeth and groaned loudly before she insisted, "If you want to chicken out now, Stetson, there's the door."

"Chicken out?" Lee stammered, shocked by the sudden change in her demeanor.

Amanda began curling her body forward slightly as the contraction continued to hit harder. Lee, unsure what to do, looked down at the strip of contraction readout paper. He noted the contraction she was having was almost off the sides of the narrow strip, whereas the secondary fetal monitors were dropping. "Amanda?" he called her name.

"What?!" she snapped uncharacteristically.

Before he could continue, Dr. Johansen appeared in the room and went immediately to the readouts. "I saw the spike at the nurse's station," he explained. "Amanda, how are you doing?" he asked.

Amanda relaxed back against the pillows and stated, "That was a rough one."

Dr. Johansen watched as Lee shook his hand as he attempted to get feeling back into his fingers and laughed. "A few more like that, and I think we're ready to get this show started."

"A few more like… you mean it gets worse?" Lee questioned. His mouth hung open, dumbfounded.

Dr. Johansen laughed loudly before he patted Lee on the shoulder. "I'll get the team ready."

"Team?" Lee stammered. Without answering, Dr. Johansen stepped into the hall and gestured at the nurses awaiting instruction. Within minutes, three nurses stepped into the room. They started preparing the examination tables, two open cribs, the two isolettes in the event they were needed, the scale, and a side table filled with miscellaneous instruments that looked more like torture devices to Lee.

Before Lee had a chance to process everything, Amanda grabbed at his hand again and growled, "I need to push… NOW!"


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Nurse Mary stood beside Amanda's bedside and began to arrange the pillows behind her, "Okay, Mrs. Stetson, this should help a bit. Which side would you prefer your husband on?"

"Whatever side he chooses," Amanda exhaled. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths.

"What side does Dotty usually stand on?" Lee asked as he brushed her hair off her face lovingly.

Amanda pressed her eyes together tightly as she shook her head, fighting a wave of nausea. "It doesn't matter, she isn't here," she moaned through clenched teeth.

"She will be," Lee insisted. He looked at the nurse and asked, "Can we hang on for a minute before we start this?"

Nurse Mary gave him a laugh as she stated, "I don't think you understand how this works, Mr. Stetson. There is no stopping or pausing it once it starts." Lee blinked several times before he dropped a chaste kiss on Amanda's forehead. He took several long strides to the door and disappeared into the hallway. "Don't think I've seen that before. Usually, they give up after a few pushes," she commented to the other nurses in the room, drawing a chorus of laughs.

In the hallway, Lee walked briskly to the family waiting room. Francine immediately rose to her feet with a frown, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Lee smiled as he turned to Dotty and stated, "We're waiting for you."

Dotty shook her head, "Lee, you don't-" she began before Lee insisted, "Your granddaughters aren't going to wait much longer." Dotty placed her hand on her chest and gave him an emotion-filled smile. She silently stood and followed him back to the room where the nurses were getting Amanda situated completely. Dotty immediately moved to Amanda's left side and took her hand.

"Mother… what," Amanda gasped, confused.

Lee took her right hand in his and stated softly, "We don't want the girls to think we left their only grandmother out of this, do we?"

"Oh, Sweetheart," Amanda sighed. A tear tracked down her cheek as she kissed his hand.

"Okay, folks. Now that we are all here, let's meet your babies," Dr. Johansen announced. "Amanda, you remember what to do. Put all your energy into each push. Try not to hold your breath, but breathe as often as you can. Once the first baby is out, you won't have much time before you'll need to focus on the second one," he instructed.

Amanda nodded, took a deep breath, and held both Lee and Dotty's hands. She took several more breaths before she felt the contraction begin. She curled herself forward and began to push. From somewhere in the room, Amanda could hear the nurse counting to ten before she relaxed slightly, took a breath, and pushed again.

Lee, unsure what he should be doing, held her hand tight and began counting along with the nurse. When he reached ten, Amanda reclined against the pillows, panting slightly. "Breathe slow," he reminded her before he brought her hand to his lips.

"That was a great start, Amanda," Dr. Johansen assured her. "A few more like that, and she'll be here before you know it."

Dotty smiled at the doctor, "She was such a champ when the boys were born. Philip was only ten minutes… and Jamie… well, six pushes, and he was right there."

Amanda groaned softly, "It's been a long time, Mother."

"But there's no reason this shouldn't be the same, am I right, Doctor?" Dotty questioned.

Dr. Johansen laughed, "No, Mrs. West, this might be a little different. If baby number two decides to flip at all, this may become a little more difficult."

Dotty patted Amanda's rounded belly and stated, "My granddaughters are not going to be difficult. I just know it."

Dr. Johansen gave Amanda a sympathetic smile, "On the next contraction, Amanda, another good push, just like the last one."

Amanda exhaled several times before she gripped Lee's hand tightly and pulled herself forward. The nurse began counting immediately as Dotty loudly cheered her on, "You've got this, Darling. Just keep pushing."

Lee could feel Amanda's grip tightening more as the nurse began her second count. He watched as Amanda closed her eyes and dropped her chin to concentrate. He leaned forward and softly counted beside her ear. When she began to relax, he whispered, "I love you." Amanda replied with a gentle squeeze of her hand.

"Okay, I think it is time for me to get suited up," Dr. Johansen announced. "Call Dr. Sax." One nurse lifted the phone near the door as another of the waiting nurses held up a long-sleeved medical gown and helped him tie it as another nurse assisted slipping gloves onto his hands. He settled himself on the small stool at the end of Amanda's bed. "Her head is right there, Amanda, so on the next one, try to hold that push as long as you can," he instructed.

Amanda nodded once, looked up at Lee, and asked huskily, "Are you sure you're ready?"

Lee's eyes twinkled playfully as he replied, "Absolutely. Are _you_ ready?"

"I'm ready to meet my first granddaughter," Dotty interrupted.

With a laugh, Amanda took several deep breaths, and as the contraction began, she closed her eyes once more and curled herself forward. "Good, good, good, good, good!" Dr. Johansen encouraged. Amanda inhaled quickly and tried to focus. "A little more… just a little more," Dr. Johansen stated. The nurse continued to count out before Amanda collapsed backward.

"You're right there, Mrs. Stetson," Nurse Mary smiled. "Do you want the mirror?"

"Mirror?" Lee squeaked. Before he could get clarification, a woman wearing a white medical coat stepped into the room. She began arranging the small examination table beside the isolettes.

Amanda shook her head. " No mirror. Sweetheart, would you… would you help me?" she requested softly.

"Help you? Amanda, how can I help you?" Lee stammered, confused.

"If you sit on the edge of the bed, she can lean against you. That'll help," Nurse Mary explained.

Lee propped his hip on the bed and asked, "Like this?"

Nurse Mary smiled, "On the next contraction, just lean forward with her. She'll do the rest."

Lee braced his left hand on the bed and took Amanda's hand with his right, "Ready when you are."

Amanda groaned once, inhaled, and began to curl forward. Lee shifted closer to her, keeping his chest against her back as much as he dared. He felt Amanda inhale sharply before Dr. Johansen called out, "Right there, Amanda. Hold that push!" Amanda's grip tightened on Lee and Dotty's hands as she began a low, growling sound that increased in loudness until Dr. Johansen stated, "She's almost here. One more will do it."

Amanda's entire body relaxed for a split second before she tensed up once more. Lee could do nothing but rest his chin on her shoulder and hold her hand tight. The sheet across Amanda's knees blocked his view of the doctor's hands. He knew something was happening as he could see the nurses handing him unseen items before he heard a small, mewling sound. Dr. Johansen rapidly shifted a tiny pink infant onto Amanda's chest as he stated, "Meet your first daughter."

Together, Amanda and Lee reached out to touch the baby as Dotty blinked her tears away, her hands now covering her face. A flash of light brought Lee's attention to a nurse standing beside him, taking pictures. Tears began to slip down Amanda's face as the small body in her arms cried louder. "Hello," she whispered before Lee kissed her cheek. "She's here, Sweetheart."

"Yes, she is," Lee smiled, his dimples deep. He touched his daughter with amazement, fascinated at how tiny she was.

"Mr. Stetson, we don't have much time before the next one, so, would you like to cut the cord?" Dr. Johansen held up a pair of sterile scissors.

"Me?" Lee asked as he looked around at everyone else.

"Yes, you. It's customary to let the fathers who braved this, do it," Dr. Johansen teased. Lee took the scissors and looked down to where Dr. Johansen pointed. "Don't worry. Neither one of them will feel this," he assured Lee. Lee squeezed the blades closed and was rewarded with a hearty cheer from the nurses.

Dr. Sax stepped forward and lifted the baby off Amanda's chest, to carry her across the room. "What's happening?" Lee demanded.

"It's okay, Mr. Stetson. Dr. Sax is just doing a quick examination of your baby; that's all," Nurse Mary assured him.

Dotty simply watched in silence, torn between wanting to get closer to her granddaughter and staying with her daughter. Amanda reached out and gripped Lee's hand tightly, an indication the next contraction was beginning. Lee made a quick decision, "Dotty, stay with DJ. Amanda and I have a little more work to do."

"DJ?" Dotty blinked back tears.

Lee smiled at her, "Dorothea Jennifer."

"Oh, my," Dotty gasped before she crossed the room to watch as the doctor weighed and measured her new granddaughter.

Lee scrambled to find his position behind Amanda again as she panted through the contraction. Dr. Johansen placed his hands on Amanda's stomach and nodded to the nurse. "She's right there, but if you can, help guide her," he stated. The nurse nodded and curved her hands around Amanda's belly. "Okay, together now. A nice solid push, Amanda."

Amanda closed her eyes and pushed as hard as she could. She could feel the baby shifting lower, and the pressure became almost unbearable. She took a sharp breath and began to push again. She winced loudly and began to pant quickly. "Pain… pain… pain…" she gasped.

"Almost done, Amanda. One more time," Dr. Johansen assured her.

Amanda shook her head, "I can't, I don't think..."

"Yes, yes, you can, Amanda. I know you can," Lee assured her. He dropped his chin on her shoulder and stated, "Look, DJ needs her sister over there with your mother." Amanda let her eyes shift to Dotty across the room, gently bouncing the crying infant. She inhaled once more and, with Lee's help, leaned forward. The nurse pushed at the same time against Amanda's belly, and after only a count of eight, Dr. Johansen commanded, "Stop! Hold it!" Again, Lee's view was obstructed, but he knew by the smile on the doctor's face, something good was happening. "Now, easy push, Amanda." Amanda squeezed Lee's hand again, and after several seconds, they were rewarded with the sound of another cry.

Dr. Johansen shifted their second daughter onto Amanda's chest and sat back to watch. Lee and Amanda held their daughter as the tears ran freely down their cheeks, and the nurse snapped several more pictures. After a minute, he held up the scissors again and told Lee, "You did good, Dad."

Lee cut the cord and allowed Dr. Sax to take the baby as he pressed his lips to Amanda's forehead and held her. "What's her name?" Dr. Sax asked before she turned away.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

An hour later, Lee stepped into the hallway, a smile plastered on his face. He went searching for Francine and was pleasantly surprised to find Billy there as well. "Well?" Francine raised her eyebrows.

"Five pounds six ounces, five pounds seven ounces. Both eighteen inches long," he blurted out.

"Congratulations, Lee!" Billy threw his arms around Lee and clapped him on the back. Francine followed his lead and gave him a big hug. "How is Amanda doing?"

Lee nodded happily, "She's good. She's good. She's resting now. They said you could come in after they finish checking everyone out. They're all good."

Billy tipped his chin up. "What did you decide for names?"

Lee smiled wider as he stated, "Dorothea Jennifer… DJ for short. When we first started talking about names, Amanda really wanted to honor both our mothers, and the more I thought about it, I couldn't agree more. Dotty has been nothing short of a godsend these past few months."

"What about the other one?" Billy prompted.

Lee turned to make eye contact with Francine, "Lily. Lillian, after Dotty's sister. Lillian Francine."

Francine couldn't hide the gasp that escaped her lips. She threw her arms around Lee and whispered, "I don't know what to say."

Lee released her and added, "Well, say you'll be her godmother. Amanda and I talked about it, and we just hadn't had time to ask you before now."

"Yes, of course!" Francine gushed. "But when did you suddenly become so religious?" she teased.

"Amanda holds onto her faith, and because of my uncle, I never grew up with any. I understand why it's important to her." Lee turned to Billy and asked, "You'll be her godfather, too, won't you?"

Billy extended his hand and grasped Lee's tightly, "Like you even had to ask!"

"What about the other one… DJ?" Francine inquired.

Lee smiled, ran his hand down his face, and said, "We're asking Amanda's friend, Debbie Ann, and her husband. They've moved back to the Arlington area, and Amanda's gotten pretty close with her again the last few months."

"I'm really proud of you, Lee," Billy beamed.

Down the hall, Dr. Johansen and Dr. Sax stepped out of Amanda's room and waved to Lee. "You want to meet them?" Lee asked anxiously. Without waiting for a reply, he turned and headed back down the hall to the yellow door of Amanda's room. He knocked lightly before he pushed it open. Amanda was sitting up in bed, both girls in her arms, a tired smile on her face. Lee pushed the door open wider to allow Billy and Francine into the room.

Dotty stepped away from the bed and announced, "I'll give you a few minutes. I'm going to call Joe, Carrie, and the boys and let them know. In all the excitement, I forgot all about them." She leaned close to Amanda and kissed her on the cheek, touched each of the babies lovingly, and made her way to the door. She pushed up onto her toes to kiss Lee on the cheek before she left the room.

Francine moved closer to the bed and tentatively peeked at one of the small bundles in Amanda's arms and then the other. "How do you know which one is which?"

Lee held up his wrist, where three bands were present. One white band bearing Amanda's name, one yellow band with the number one on it, and one green band with the number two. "DJ was born first. She has a yellow band around her ankle. Lily has the green one."

"Do you want to hold one?" Amanda smiled at Francine. She lifted her left elbow to indicate which baby she was referring to.

Francine held her hands up and shook her head, "I'm not good with babies. I don't know."

Lee reached down, carefully lifted DJ out of Amanda's arms, and passed her to Billy's waiting arms. "It's not that hard, Francine," he teased. "If I can handle it, I think you can, too."

Francine looked down at the tiny bundle and tentatively held her hands out. Amanda shifted the baby into Francine's waiting arms and smiled. "She's tiny. I mean… seeing them like this… You were so big...I don't know… I thought they'd be bigger," Francine admitted. She carefully lowered herself into the chair beside Amanda's bed and stared at the infant. She glanced up at Billy, smiling down at the baby in his arms as he gently bounced her. "Soooo, what do I do?" she asked.

Amanda smiled at her friend, "Just hold her. Talk to her."

"Talk to her?" Francine blinked. "About what?"

Amanda chuckled, "Anything you want. She's not going to understand, but it's not about what you say to her… it's just about her hearing your voice, getting to know you that way."

Francine exhaled, "Okay. Well, hello, Lily. I like your hat." Lily partially opened one eye before it rolled upward, and she closed it again. Francine shook her head, "What was that?"

"What was what?" Amanda asked with a smile.

Francine glanced down at the baby. "That thing… what was that thing she just did?"

Amanda stretched over to get a better look at her daughter, who was resting peacefully in Francine's arms. "I don't know, Francine, I didn't see anything."

Francine sighed and began to speak to Lily, "Whatever that was you just did, please don't do it again." Lily cracked one eye open, and just as before, her eye rolled upward before closing. Francine shook her head and declared, "Nope, can't do this!" She slowly stood and gently passed the baby back to Amanda but stayed beside the bed.

Confused by what just happened, Billy laughed at Francine's discomfort before turning to Amanda. "How are you feeling, Amanda?" Billy asked with a smile.

"Tired. Happy it's over. Happy, they're here. Happy, they're healthy. Happy Lee got here in time," Amanda admitted.

Billy turned his head to the side and coughed, "Well, we did our best to get him here as quickly as we could. I would have sent him with a police escort if we knew it was going to happen this fast."

Lee took DJ from Billy's arms and held her gently, supporting her head, as Amanda had taught him. "Well, none of that matters because I was here, and now they're here," Lee tried to dismiss the topic.

In Lee's arms, DJ began whimpering and squirming. Lee looked up at Amanda for guidance. Amanda held her arm out to switch babies with him. "She's probably beginning to get hungry. They have a way of doing that right from the get-go," Amanda explained.

Francine's face went white. "Amanda… you're not going to…" her voice trailed off as she gestured toward her breasts.

"Relax, Francine. There are little bottles under that bassinet. Can you get one for me?" Amanda requested with a smile. Visibly relieved, Francine stood and rummaged around until she found the box with the small bottles prefilled with formula. She spotted the disposable nipples, sealed in plastic. Amanda nodded as she held it up. "Good job, Francine. You have passed the first baby test," Amanda teased. "It's not very hard. Watch."

"Very funny," Francine retorted with a groan. She watched as Amanda laid the baby down on her lap and quickly fitted the nipple onto the bottle. She barely had the bottle in DJ's mouth when Lily began fussing in Lee's arms. "I'll get it," Francine announced. Lee sat down and maneuvered the baby into the crook of his elbow as Francine fitted the nipple, just as Amanda had shown her. She handed him the small bottle and watched in amazement as Lee began to feed his daughter. "Never in a million years did I see this coming," she uttered.

Billy moved to stand beside her. With a broad smile, he stated, "Scarecrow… a dad… will wonders never cease."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Jamie stared at the infant in his arms, fascinated. "Mom?" he called softly.

"Yes, Sweetheart?" she replied sleepily.

"Why are they so little?" he asked. He tipped his head to the side to look at the other baby in Phillip's arms.

Phillip groaned, "Because they're babies, stupid. They're supposed to be little."

Jamie shook his head, "No, Charlie's a baby, and he wasn't this small when we first saw him. Right, Lee?" He looked up at him, hoping Lee would take his side. Lee was sitting on the edge of Amanda's bed, ready to take either of the infants from the boys.

"Well, Charlie was a little older than your sisters when your grandmother started taking care of him, so he would've been bigger. And you have to remember; your sisters didn't have as much room to grow as you and your brother did before you were born," Lee smiled.

Lee glanced over at Amanda, who returned his smile with a tired nod. She closed her eyes and settled back against the pillows, exhausted. He reached over to take her hand, but his attention was drawn back to the boys when Philip asked, "How do we tell them apart? Right now, they both look the same."

"Yeah, I already forgot which one this is," Jamie admitted, looking down at his sister.

"Well, today they each have a colored band around their ankle. When we bring them home, it might be hard in the beginning, but we'll figure it out," Lee assured them. He reached over and tugged the blanket loose around the infant's feet. When he saw the green band, he reminded Jamie, "That's Lily."

"That makes this one DJ," Philip confirmed. He tried to study their faces to see if there was anything different about each baby, but he came up empty.

Dotty beamed from her post near the windows, "I'm sure their personalities will come shining through, as well. I mean, just because they look alike doesn't mean everything about them is going to be the same."

Lee nodded, "That's true." Before he could continue, two nurses stepped into the room.

"We hate to break up this gathering, but you need to say goodbye for now," one nurse stated. She stepped forward to take the infant in Philip's arms.

"What are you doing?" Lee immediately questioned.

The nurse just smiled at him, "Mrs. Stetson needs her rest, and we need to bring the babies to the nursery for observation. Hospital rules, Mr. Stetson, you understand." She carefully lifted the baby and placed her into one of the two hospital bassinets. "Dr. Sax is in the nursery now and needs to run a few tests on them."

"Tests? What kind of tests?" Lee tensed up.

"It's completely standard, Mr. Stetson," the second nurse replied as she lifted the second infant from Jamie's arms. Lee looked at Amanda, who was blinking lazily at him, then at the nurses. "If you'd like, you can follow us down to see where they will be," the nurse suggested.

Amanda reached out for Lee, and after he took her hand, she whispered, "I think I'd like to take a nap, Sweetheart, so maybe you could walk Mother and the boys out and see where the girls are going to be."

Lee leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "Get some rest then. I'll be back in a little bit," he promised her. Lee, Dotty, and the boys followed the nurses into the hall, where they began pushing the bassinets toward a wall lined with windows.

"See, Mr. Stetson," one nurse assured him. Inside the room, he noticed several other infants, bundled up tightly, sleeping. Standing near the doorway was Dr. Sax. She caught his attention with a smile and a wave as the two nurses continued into the room. Lee gave her a half-hearted wave back but waited until the nurses parked the bassinets into two open spaces.

"That's where they'll be while Amanda rests," Dotty assured him. She gave him a side hug and smiled. Something at the end of the hallway caught her attention, and to Lee's surprise, Joe was walking toward them.

"Congratulations, Lee," Joe announced when he reached them. He extended his hand out as he asked, "How's Amanda feeling?"

Before Lee could answer, Jamie excitedly pointed at the window. "That's them, Dad. Back there. That doctor has…" his voice trailed off as he tried to see the band around the infant's ankle. "Green… that's Lily. I was holding her when the nurses came in," he announced proudly.

Joe smiled at his son, "She looks a little like you when you were born." Lee waved at the nurse to get her attention. Familiar with the gesture, she held up DJ for Joe to see.

"That's DJ," Philip stated with a smile.

Joe studied the small faces for several seconds. "Wow," Joe gasped. "They really do look alike."

"Well, what were you expecting?" Lee laughed at the absurdity of Joe's comment.

"I don't know. I mean, I know Amanda said they were going to be identical, but… looks like you are going to have your hands full for a while," Joe laughed.

Dotty reached out and grasped Joe's hand, "Amanda will have it all under control, you mark my words. She's been thinking about this for months now."

Lee's attention was drawn back to the back of the nursery, where he watched Dr. Sax lay Lily down to examine her. He reached up and touched the glass with his fingertips as Lily's face began to scrunch up. When Dr. Sax held a syringe in her hand, the muscle in his cheek began to twitch wildly. He anticipated what was coming next, and it was taking every part of him to hold back marching into the room and snatching his daughter into this arms. Dr. Sax plunged the small needle into Lily's leg and, although he couldn't hear her, he could see Lily was screeching. The nurse quickly scooped the infant up to console her. She bounced her gently before she laid her back into her bassinet and swaddled her tightly. The nurse offered a pacifier to the crying newborn, and within a minute, she was contentedly sucking away.

"She's going to be just fine, Lee," Joe assured him. "The boys always hated their shots, too, but they need them. so it's worth that minute or two of discomfort."

Lee reached up and dragged his hand down his neck, "Yeah, I know, but you can ask Amanda. I hate doctors and needles and all that." He watched as Dr. Sax repeated the same procedure on DJ, cringing the entire time. Once again, the nurse was able to comfort the newborn easily, and within minutes, the twins were resting side by side.

Joe reached up and clapped Lee on the shoulder, "You might as well get used to that, though. If I remember right, the first year is filled with doctor's appointments and shots, but the doctors will tell you, it's all to keep them healthy."

Lee's eyes were still focused on his daughters. "I'm sure, but I still don't have to like it."

"Dad?" Philip called from the other side of Joe, "Do you think we can go to the store, so we can buy them something? I got my first paycheck from the shop, and, well, I can't think of anything better to spend it on than them."

Joe put his arm around his eldest son, "Tell you what. How about Carrie and I buy the girls something and you and Jamie can get something nice for your mom?"

Jamie's eyes lit up, "Yeah, I have some money saved up, too. And I have the perfect idea…" he glanced over at Lee and added, "Sorry, Lee, but I think I want this to be a surprise."

Lee chuckled, shook his head, and stated, "I get it. You guys have a good time. I'm going to go back and check on Amanda."

"And I am going to head home and start calling everyone. Oh, this is so exciting! Just think, Lee, Sunday is your first official Father's Day!" Dotty exclaimed happily.

Joe nodded, "That's right. Congratulations!"

Lee grinned, his dimples deep, "I forgot all about that. Thanks."

Joe lifted his chin toward Philip and Jamie, "How about you boys walk your grandmother to her car? I'll meet you down there."

"Sure thing, Dad," Philip nodded back. The two boys escorted Dotty into the elevator, who was still chatting away about who she needed to call and how excited everyone was going to be.

"I just wanted a minute, without the boys and Dotty," Joe explained. Lee turned his attention to him and waited. "Well, first, I just want to thank you for everything you've done for the boys this last year."

"Joe, you don't have to do that," Lee insisted, but Joe raised his hand to stop him.

Joe sighed, shook his head, and stated, "No, I do. I thought all of this was going to be hard on them… Carrie and I getting married, you and Amanda getting married, a new house, Carrie and I moving into the house on Maplewood… but somehow, they've taken it all in stride. I truly believe it's because of you, Lee." Lee blinked several times, absorbing Joe's admission. "You've given them something they've lacked for so long, but I was too wrapped up in the EAO to see it. Amanda tells me how you spend time with them, helping with their homework, working on projects like the firepit last fall, and taking them to the races around town. Philip even said you helped him get an A-minus in history. I never thought I'd see the day my son would get an A in anything in high school."

"They're good kids, Joe. I don't do all that much," Lee tried again.

Joe held his hand out, and when Lee grasped it, he stated, "You do more now than I've done over the years. I'm glad they've gotten to see how a real family should be. Not just the life I forced them into when they were small. Thanks."

Lee squeezed Joe's hand and stated, "As Amanda keeps reminding me… it takes a village. You and I are a big part of that village, and I think if we continue to work together like we have been, we're going to see some great things from the boys."

Joe reached up and clapped Lee on the shoulder once more, "Amanda's right."

"She's always right… just don't tell her I said that," Lee laughed.

Joe glanced down the hall and laughed loudly, "Don't worry. I won't."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Late that evening, Lee sat beside Amanda on the bed, each of them holding one of the twins. "They're perfect," Amanda sighed happily as she studied their little faces.

"Just like their mother," Lee whispered before he leaned closer and kissed her cheek.

Amanda shook her head, "Lee, I'm far from perfect. I just try my hardest and hope for the best most of the time." She glanced down at the sleeping infant in her arms. "I can't believe they're finally here."

Lee chuckled as he asked, "I guess the real fun begins now, right?"

Amanda furrowed her brow as she tried to interpret his comment. "I don't understand," she admitted.

Lee shrugged his shoulders and readjusted the baby in his arms as he explained, "You know, getting to know them… figuring out their personalities… seeing who's going to be more like you or me… the real fun. I was reading in one of those books that by the time they are four months old, their personalities really start to shine through. Until then-"

"Until then, we're going to be trying to figure out how to do everything times two," Amanda interrupted him with a laugh. She shifted uncomfortably on the bed and stated, "And I think that's going to start now. Sweetheart, can you take her so I can go use the powder room?"

Lee looked down at the baby in his arms then over at Amanda. "Um… yeah, I think I can handle that," he stuttered.

"It's just like holding a couple of footballs," Amanda teased. She carefully laid the sleeping baby into the crook of Lee's arm, and gingerly climbed off the edge of the bed. She winced loudly as she tried to straighten herself fully.

Lee flinched, "Amanda… do you need to call the nurse or something?"

Amanda shook her head, "No, I'll be fine. I'm just going to go slow." Hunching over slightly, she shuffled her feet along and disappeared into the bathroom.

Lee exhaled and muttered to himself, "I can do this… this isn't so hard." No sooner had the words left his lips when he watched Lily's face scrunch up, and he heard a small, rumbling sound. "Amanda? Something's happening with one of them," he called out nervously. Lily's face scrunched up a little more before a rosy red blush swept across her face. "Amanda?" he called again.

"What's going on, Lee?" Amanda called back.

"Um… how do I put this… I think this is one of those diapers I wasn't qualified for with Charlie," he announced as he felt a shift in pressure in his hand. Lily slowly blinked open her eyes and whimpered. "Amanda?" he called again.

From the bathroom, Amanda exhaled loudly as she stated, "Well, you're going to have to figure this one out. I'm going to be a minute."

Lee puffed up his cheeks before he exhaled, "Are you sure?" He looked down at his daughter, who was now staring up at him. She squirmed in his arms and whimpered again. In his other arm, DJ began to scrunch up her face. Lee shook his head, "Oh, no. Not you, too?" He shifted his left arm first to lift Lily a little higher, so he could wiggle toward the edge of the bed.

"Okay," he sighed. "I can do this. I'll just put them both on the bed and then I can get what I need. That's all… I'll just put them on the bed," Lee narrated. He leaned to the side and gently released Lily onto the spot of the bed he just vacated. Using both hands, he shifted DJ to his left side and placed her beside her sister. "Good," he applauded himself. "Now… diapers and wipes. Diapers and wipes," he repeated as he scanned the shelves under the bassinet. He located two tiny diapers but was unable to find anything that resembled wipes. All he could come up with was a thicker, cotton cloth. "Amanda, I don't see any packages of wipes," he called.

"They don't use those in the hospital. There should be something there, though. You'll probably need to wet a cloth," she called back.

Lee held up the soft, white rectangle. "This must be it." Using the small sink in the corner of the room, he filled the small pink basin partway with warm water and wet two cloths before he took everything back to the bed where the infants were squirming side by side. "Lily first," he decided. He carefully tugged the pink, white, and blue receiving blanket from around her legs and noticed the yellow-colored band around her ankle. "Sorry, DJ," he apologized as he realized he already made a mistake. With her legs free, she awkwardly pulled her knees up closer to her belly and began to cry. Lee tugged at the blanket around Lily's legs. She also curled her legs up, and she started to cry as well.

"Okay, okay. We're going to do this as fast as we can," he assured them. He began to loosen the tabs of Lily's diaper when he heard Amanda call from behind the closed door, "Is everything all right out there?"

Lee peeled the diaper back slowly, and he couldn't stop his response, "Amanda? What the hell is this? What's wrong with our daughter?!" Shocked, he tapped the tabs back into place and proceeded to check DJ's diaper only to find the same black, tarry substance as well. "Both of them? Amanda?!" he called out.

Amanda laughed loudly as she asked, "Does it look like tar?"

"I guess you could say that," Lee replied, confused.

"That's perfectly normal. Just keep going. I'll be done in a minute," she assured him.

Lee stared at the two sets of hazy grey eyes staring back at him and asked, "Can't I just wait for you?"

Amanda called back in the sternest voice she could muster, "Be a man, Scarecrow, and change your daughters' diapers."

Lee narrowed his eyes at the closed door and muttered, "Be a man! Yeah, I'll use that line next time you get hurt in the line of duty… or when Francine needs your help, and you don't want to do it. I'll show you how to be a man…" He trailed off his quiet tirade and exhaled loudly once more.

"Okay, girls, this is how we're going to do this. Just don't cry, and we'll all be happier in a jiffy," he instructed. Lee released the small tabs again and held his breath as he wiped the sticky substance off. He used both cloths on just Lily, and after he got the clean diaper on her, he reached over and grabbed several more dry cloths, immediately dunking them into the warm water. He was just finishing fastening DJ's diaper when Amanda emerged from the bathroom. "You okay? I was beginning to get worried," he admitted.

Amanda gave him a weak smile, "Better now. I forgot all the icky parts of having babies." She glanced at the two small bundled diapers, "But from the looks of things, you just survived your own first crash course in something else just as yucky." She reached down and readjusted the tabs a little tighter across each infant's belly. "There." She pushed up onto her toes and brushed her lips across Lee's. "One diaper change down… about a million more to go," she laughed.

"As long as none of them look like that ever again, I think I might be able to handle it," Lee admitted.

Amanda leaned down and tightly swaddled DJ. She scooped her up and handed her off to Lee before turning her attention back to Lily. "I think you're safe for the next few months," she declared with a smile.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

"What the hell? This fit yesterday!" Lee muttered under his breath as he tried to shift one of the car seats to the middle of the backseat of the Wagoneer.

"Mr. Stetson, would you like some help?" the nurse standing behind Amanda's wheelchair offered.

Lee waved her off as he grumbled, "No, I got it. I mean, I think I do."

Amanda looked down at the two sleeping bundles in her arms before she offered, "Sweetheart, why don't you move the seat back where it was?"

Lee glanced over his shoulder and groaned, "But I thought you'd want to sit back here with them?"

Amanda shook her head, "It's only a short ride back to the house. I'm sure they will be fine. They've got full bellies and clean diapers, and they're both sound asleep. I bet they won't even know the difference."

Lee looked down at the lopsided car seat in his hands and groaned, "I should have left it alone, huh?"

"It's okay. I'm sure you were just doing what you thought was best," Amanda smiled at him.

Lee sighed heavily, "Dad fail number one… can't get their car seats in correctly to bring them home from the hospital." He shifted the seat back to its original position and easily buckled it in.

The nurse behind Amanda laughed, "Don't be so hard on yourself, Mr. Stetson. At least you've managed to pull up to the curb with the car seats in the car. I've seen many dads leave them at home."

Lee shot her a daggered look before putting his hands out to Amanda to take one of the twins from her. "At least I know how to buckle her in," he admitted. Silently he was thankful Amanda made a point for everyone in the house to practice with a teddy bear, buckling and unbuckling the straps. He gently slipped the sleeping newborn into the cradled car seat and carefully tucked the straps around her shoulders before he snapped the buckle tightly between her feet. He leaned close and dropped a sweet kiss on her forehead before he touched her chest with his hand. He turned back to Amanda and reached for the other sleeping baby.

"Since you have them under control, how about I help Mrs. Stetson into the front seat?" the nurse offered with a genuine smile.

"Thank you, Sue. It was awful nice of you to wait out here while we figured this out," Amanda stated appreciatively.

Nurse Sue patted her shoulder, "It was my pleasure. And it's such a beautiful day out today; I don't mind one bit. A little extra vitamin D never hurt anyone; I always say." Amanda pushed herself out of the wheelchair and gingerly straightened herself up. "You doing okay?" Nurse Sue questioned.

"I forgot how sore you are for the first few days. It's been so long," Amanda admitted. She carefully climbed into the front seat and sighed.

"No, you didn't forget. Your mind tricked you into not remembering. If we did, we probably wouldn't ever have any more babies after the first one," Nurse Sue assured her with a laugh. Lee was just finishing strapping in the second sleeping infant when Nurse Sue called to him. "Mr. Stetson, you did an excellent job. Now, please make sure your wife gets some rest. She doesn't need to overdo things the first day or two home. And she shouldn't be lifting anything heavier than those babies," she reminded him. "No laundry baskets or grocery bags until she sees her doctor for her six-week checkup."

"Don't you worry about that. Between her mother, her two older boys, and me, she's got plenty of help," Lee gave her his best, dimpled smile. He climbed into the drivers' seat and added, "Thank you again for all your help."

"Enjoy those beautiful babies of yours," Nurse Sue smiled back. "Oh, and Mr. Stetson…" she called to him just before he pulled away from the curb. "Happy Father's Day," she added.

Lee smiled wider, "Thank you very much." He nodded once and slowly steered the car through the parking lot to the street. Twenty minutes later, Lee pulled into the driveway. He noticed the pink and white balloons adorning the mailbox and basketball hoop and smiled again. "We're home," he announced happily. He stopped just outside the garage where his Corvette and Dotty's car were parked.

"Finally," Amanda teased. "I think Mother drives faster than you just did."

"Well, I wanted to make sure we got home safely, that's all," Lee defended.

Amanda nodded with a smile and added, "Well, you certainly did that. Now, let's get everyone inside and settled." She released her seatbelt and reached for the door handle with a small groan.

"How about we get you inside first, and I'll bring the girls in after, along with all the gifts we got? I can't believe how many people stopped by yesterday. I thought the nurses were going to get angry until your mother brought that batch of cookies for them," Lee laughed.

"Well, it just shows you how many people care, that's all," Amanda explained. She winced loudly as she stood slowly.

Lee immediately ran around the front of the car and reached out for her, "Are you okay? Do we need to go back to the hospital?"

Amanda shook her head, "I'll be fine. It's going to take a while for all these aches and pains to go away, that's all."

Before Lee could reply, the interior door opened, and Dotty rushed into the garage, yelling, "Well, it's about time you two got here! I was beginning to get worried."

"Sorry, Mother. Lee was nervous driving, so he went extra slow," Amanda laughed.

"Nervous driving? Lee, you're a very good driver. I mean, you drive a little fast sometimes, but you're a good, safe driver, so there's nothing to be nervous about," Dotty reprimanded him with a furrowed brow.

Lee closed his eyes and shook his head. "I wasn't nervous. Let's get Amanda inside, and I'll bring the girls in after. Then I'll come back and get all the gifts we got."

"Speaking of gifts, you got another one this morning. It must be from one of your friends from work because it has that funny nickname of yours on the package," Dotty explained. She reached out and began to help Amanda up the three steps into the house.

"A package? What do you mean a package?" Lee immediately froze.

Dotty nodded, "A package was delivered this morning. Well, I think it was delivered. It was left on the front steps. I only found it when I went out to get the paper."

"Where is the package now?" Lee demanded.

"It's in the foyer on the table beside the door… Lee, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost," Dotty questioned.

Lee sidestepped Dotty and Amanda and rushed into the house. "Dotty, you didn't try to open it, did you?" he asked nervously.

"Lee Stetson, what kind of person do you think I am? It wasn't my gift to open," Dotty snapped.

Lee found the brown paper wrapped package exactly where Dotty said it was and a sick feeling immediately developed in the pit of his stomach. He grabbed the box and headed into the kitchen, where he picked up the portable phone and headed back into the garage.

"Lee? What's going on?" Amanda questioned from the couch.

"It's just… it's a silly gift that's going to make a big mess if we open it inside… I'm just going to put it out here before I get the girls, so we don't have to deal with it just yet," Lee stammered before he closed the door. He noticed the metal trash can and lid in the corner of the garage and sighed heavily. "It's not going to do much," he muttered before he gingerly placed the package inside, and he dialed Billy's number. "Billy, it's Scarecrow. We've got a problem."


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Ten minutes later, an exasperated Lee carried the two car seats into the house. The twins were still sleeping soundly, strapped in tightly. He brought the seats to Amanda, reclining on the couch. "Sorry. I got caught up on the phone with Billy," he muttered apologetically. "He's going to swing by in a bit. I need to talk to him about a few things," he quickly added.

Amanda studied his face carefully. The twitching muscle in his cheek and his inability to make eye contact was all she needed. "Lee, sit down and tell me what's going on," she commanded softly yet firmly.

Lee glanced over his shoulder toward the garage door and shook his head. "No, I can't. I'm going to bring the gifts in, but please, just stay here, in the house," Lee begged.

Amanda reached out to touch his arm and tried again, "Tell me what's happening."

Lee closed his eyes, sighed, and pursed his lips tightly. "I don't know how to explain this," he whispered.

"Start from the beginning, Sweetheart," Amanda encouraged.

"That package your mother brought in… came from Sorenson. I didn't want to tell you before, but that's why I was late getting to the hospital the other day. He sent a package there, too," Lee explained nervously.

Amanda's eyes widened as she processed his admission, "So, you're telling me Sorensen has targeted us? Why?"

Lee lifted his shoulders as he shook his head, "I don't know. The last time I crossed paths with him was just before you and I met, and even then, I didn't do much. I was part of the team that helped find him, but even then, I wasn't there when they took him down."

Amanda reached out and grasped his hand. "Lee, think. What did you do that helped find him?"

Lee squeezed her hand and thought back to the original Sorenson case. "I interviewed his sister, his family, his girlfriend…" Lee paused as his fingers began to snap. "Wait… his girlfriend. Something… something happened to her during the takedown… I vaguely remember reading it in the original report, but it's been so long, I don't know now," he stammered as a small flicker of recognition registered in his brain. He glanced at his watch and stood quickly. "Billy's bringing the bomb squad and the truck, so please, just stay here. I'm going to get it as far away from the house and everyone as I can right now," he explained.

A cold shiver snaked down Amanda's spine. "Lee… are you telling me there is a bomb, right now, in our garage?"

Lee took two steps toward the doorway and stopped. He turned back to face her and nodded slowly, "Not for long. Just stay here, with the girls. Keep your mother here, too. Whatever you do, don't come outside. Please."

Amanda looked down at their sleeping daughters, her eyes welling up with fear-filled tears. "Lee," she called. "You better come back. I can't do this alone. Not now," she stated huskily.

Lee closed the gap between them to brush his lips against her forehead. He turned and left the room without another word. He closed the interior garage door before he hurried to the metal trash can. He carefully lifted the bin and made his way to the street. Glancing around, he calculated the safest place to move the receptacle was the middle of the street just before it widened for the cul-de-sac. He silently thanked the developer who had the sense to only build two houses at this end of the street and for having spaced the others apart for privacy. He checked his watch and groaned as the seconds ticked by too slowly for him.

The sound of a rattling garage door startled Lee. He jumped nervously before he noticed his neighbor slowly backing out of his driveway. Lee stared at the metal can before he carefully lifted it and moved it aside. His neighbor stopped and rolled down the window. "Congratulations, Lee! How's Amanda doing?" he asked.

"She's good. Tired and sore but doing good. Thanks, Jim," Lee smiled at him.

His neighbor studied the trashcan before he raised an eye and stated, "Pickup isn't until Wednesday. Everything okay?"

Lee paused for a second before he quickly stated, "Yeah… we found a skunk in the garage. We think it's sick or something. I'm waiting… for animal control. I figured I'd get it out here, so if it sprayed… you know." Lee shrugged his shoulders for added emphasis.

"It's that time of year again," Jim, the neighbor, announced. "Just so you know, I'm picking Jill up at work, and we are heading out of town for the night. We're going to go visit her parents in Philly for Father's Day."

Lee exhaled unconsciously, "That's great. Tell her we said hi."

"Will do!" Jim replied cheerfully. With a final wave, he continued to roll up the street, away from Lee and the cul-de-sac.

Lee checked his watch again and backed away from the middle of the street. He crouched down on the edge of the sidewalk and scrubbed his face with his hands as he waited. Fifteen long minutes later, the lumbering sounds of a truck got his attention. He stood, shook his legs one at a time, and waited until the truck came to a stop, Billy's car behind it. Four men dressed in tactical gear descended the back stairs of the large vehicle.

"It's in there," Lee pointed to the can.

Billy hurried over to stand beside Lee. "You doing okay, Scarecrow?" he questioned.

"I will be when that package is far away from here and my family," Lee admitted.

The bomb technician carefully opened the lid, and using a handheld device, scanned the package inside. He gave a thumbs up to the other members of his team before he replaced the cover. He lifted the can and carried it back to the truck where another member of the team unscrewed the lid of the bomb containment chamber, mounted inside. Methodically, they removed the brown paper-wrapped package and placed it into the chamber, sealing it off safely. One technician pulled off his hood and announced, "All clear."

"Sir, we'll take care of this and report back to you ASAP," another technician stated.

"Thank you," Billy nodded. He turned back to Lee and assured him, "We're putting surveillance on your house, so Sorenson can't get this close again."

Lee ran his hand through his hair nervously. "Billy, I think I might know why he's doing this. What happened to his girlfriend? Gina… something or other… She was there during his initial takedown and got hurt. That's all I remember."

"I was just going over that report. She succumbed to her injuries about a week later," Billy informed him.

"Was there an autopsy done? I have a hunch, but I want to confirm it," Lee nodded.

Billy rubbed his jawline and said, "I think so. I'll have that sent over by messenger. But listen, you shouldn't be dealing with his now. You should be enjoying time with your family, not working. Remember?"

Lee pursed his lips tightly before he stated, "I can't enjoy anything until we get Sorenson out of the picture, now that we know he's targeting us."

"I understand," Billy agreed. They watched as the mobile tactical truck slowly rolled around the cul-de-sac and away from them. "Does Amanda suspect anything?" he joked.

Lee put the lid back on the metal can, grabbed it by the handle, and chuckled, "I had to tell her. She knew immediately when I asked her to stay in the house."

Billy laughed along with him, "Well, let's see what I can do to help calm her fears. I'm sure she's fit to be tied right about now."

"Yeah, something like that," Lee smiled. He relaxed slightly as they walked toward the house, side by side.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

"Thank you, Dotty, for the coffee," Billy smiled as Dotty handed him the steaming mug.

"I wasn't expecting to see you today," she returned, an eyebrow raised in Lee's direction.

Lee took a healthy swig of his coffee before he cleared his throat, "Billy had a small problem with something work-related that just couldn't wait any longer."

Dotty settled herself onto the edge of the couch and reached out to touch Lily's head as Amanda gently bounced her in her arms to soothe her. "Well, I'm sure work could've waited. After all, Amanda and the girls have barely been home for an hour. They haven't even had a chance to settle in yet," Dotty continued. She couldn't hide the annoyance in her tone. "I mean, I thought the boys spending the weekend with their father would give you some time… alone… to be with just the girls. And don't forget, it is Father's Day tomorrow, and this is your first official Father's Day, Lee…" Dotty trailed off as she pursed her lips tightly together.

"And I apologize for the intrusion, Dotty, really I do. This was just something that couldn't have waited," Billy tried.

Dotty rolled her eyes and deadpanned, "Let me guess. It was a matter of national security, and you can't tell me anything about it."

Amanda sighed, "Mother, do you think you can get me one of the bottles in the bag from the hospital, please? I think Lee put it in our bedroom by mistake."

Dotty scrambled to her feet, "Of course, Darling." Several seconds later, her soft footsteps were heard on the stairs.

"Sir, you don't think Sorenson is going to try again, do you?" Amanda asked worriedly. She glanced down at the fussy newborn in her arms. In the car seat on the floor beside her, DJ began to stir.

Before Billy could answer, Lee stood and crossed the room. He held his arms out, "Why don't you give me Lily, and you can get DJ." Amanda willingly handed over the infant before she turned her attention to the other baby.

"Don't worry about Sorenson, Amanda. We've got a full team out there to keep an eye on things for you. He's not going to get through that," Billy assured her. From somewhere above them, they heard Dotty's voice filter down, "I found the bag of bottles and formula!" Billy grinned before he added, "I better get going before Dotty grills me even more. Lee, I'll send Francine with that file as soon as possible. Costa and Menard are in place to monitor everyone coming and going to this end of the street. If I hear anything else, I'll be in touch."

As he stood, Dotty reappeared in the doorway, carrying two small bottles filled with formula and two burp cloths, "Leaving so soon?" She glanced around to see Lee trying to comfort a crying Lily as Amanda was readjusting a whimpering DJ in her arms.

Billy gave her his best smile before he nodded, "I think Lee and Amanda have their hands full at the moment. And I got all the information I needed." He turned to Lee and nodded, "I'll give you a call when I find that… interview… you asked about. That might help with the project you were working on."

"Thanks, Billy. Here, let me walk you out," Lee stood, the crying infant in his arms whimpering louder.

Billy held his hand up, "That's not needed. I can show myself out. Enjoy your family time." He left quietly through the garage door.

Dotty handed Amanda a small bottle of formula before holding up the second one while she waited for Lee to sit down again. Once he was settled beside Amanda, Dotty passed the small bottle and sighed. She clasped her hands to her chest and blinked away the tears that formed in her eyes. "This needs a picture!" she declared. She looked around the room and asked, "Where did I leave my camera? Oh! I know." She smiled once more before she scrambled to find her purse in the kitchen.

Lee studied Lily's face as she grunted softly around the nipple of the bottle. "Your mother isn't going to do that all weekend, is she?" he asked Amanda softly.

Amanda tipped her head to the side and rested against his shoulder, "She's just excited, that's all. New babies are exciting. And she's never had granddaughters before."

Lee sighed, "I know. I guess I'm just not used to all this. But I will be, I promise. I won't complain about the hundreds of pictures I'm sure she's going to take, because, you know what? I'm pretty excited myself." Lee brushed his lips against Amanda's forehead. Lost in the moment, he didn't notice Dotty slip back into the room until the flash of the camera startled him. He jerked the bottle from Lily's mouth inadvertently when he twitched reflexively. His initial reaction was to reach for his gun that was not in its usual holstered position on his hip.

Amanda hissed his name as Lily began to cry immediately. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he muttered apologetically as he righted the bottle back into his daughter's wailing mouth.

"Lee, you have to be careful when you're feeding a baby," Dotty scolded him. She leaned closer to take a picture of Lily before moving to Amanda's side for a better angle of DJ. "Oh, I better save some film for later. I'll need to run to the store and get more this evening," she declared several minutes and several flashes later.

Lee groaned only low enough for Amanda to hear him. She gave him a gentle nudge with her elbow before she shifted DJ to her shoulder to burp her. "After the girls finish these bottles, I think I'd like to lay down for a while. Maybe take a nap while they nap. I didn't sleep much last night at the hospital," Amanda yawned.

"That's exactly what you did when the boys first came home. Each time they napped, you'd snuggle up on the couch and snooze. Philip used to love that even though he hated naps. He would tuck his head right into your shoulder, and in minutes you would both be fast asleep. I think we have a picture of that… Maybe I'll look for it later," Dotty reminisced with a wistful smile on her face.

Amanda blinked sleepily, "Thank you, Mother." Lee drew her attention as he awkwardly tried to shift Lily to burp her. "Watch her head, Sweetheart," she reminded him.

"I know, I remember," Lee groaned. He managed to maneuver the small infant onto his shoulder and was quickly rewarded with a loud, juicy sounding burp. As he felt the wetness soak into the shoulder of his shirt, he noticed the pink and yellow-flowered cloth still sitting on his leg. "I'll get this right soon," he grumbled as he returned Lily to the crook of his arm and propped the bottle back into her mouth.

"It's not that bad," Amanda assured him as she tried to hide the grin on her face. "You might need to get used to that anyway," she quickly added. She twisted her hand to hold both DJ and the bottle in place as she blotted at the wet spot with the small cloth.

Lee shook his head, "Just leave it. I'll change my shirt when they're done and settled." Lee looked down at Lily and smiled. He leaned forward and brushed his lips softly against her forehead before he repeated the gentle action on DJ's head. He lifted his chin to make eye contact with Amanda. "I can't believe we are all home now. You are truly amazing, Amanda, you know that?" Lee pressed his lips to Amanda's, and when the flash startled him again, he didn't care. Instead, he whispered, "I love you."


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

The rest of the day passed quietly as Amanda, Lee, and Dotty settled into a routine with the girls. Amanda napped off and on while Lee and Dotty tended to the everyday household chores. While Dotty ran to the market to pick up groceries and extra film for her camera, Lee helped with the laundry and getting dinner started for the three of them. Amanda insisted she could help but was quickly guided back into the living room where Lee gently commanded that she follow the doctor's orders and stay off her feet. With an exaggerated sigh, she relented. She spent the next hour simply staring at their sleeping newborns in her arms.

After dinner, as the evening wore on, Lee watched Amanda tending to Lily, and he sighed happily. "I can't believe I ever thought I was happy," he admitted.

"What do you mean, Sweetheart?" Amanda asked as she carefully changed the baby's clothes.

"The life I had… the embassy parties, long nights working, traveling all over the world… none of that even compares to this," he smiled before taking Amanda's hand in his and bringing it to his lips. "And it's all because of you."

Amanda blushed, tipped her head to the side, and sighed, "That's the nicest thing you could've said today. But it's not getting you out of changing DJ, so the diapers are right there as are her pajamas." Amanda raised a knowing eyebrow in his direction after pointing to the items on the couch beside her.

Lee chuckled, his hazel eyes flashing playfully. "I'll have you know, I wasn't trying to get out of anything. I want to do this… all of it," he stated. He waved the tiny diaper in his hand for emphasis.

"Good, because your daughter has another one of those diapers you claim you're not qualified for," Amanda teased right back.

Lee looked down at his daughter beside him on the couch. "Really? You're not helping…" he chuckled with a gentle poke. DJ wiggled slightly beneath his hand in response. Lee carefully unsnapped the fasteners along her legs before he tugged the tabs of her diaper free.

"Watch her belly button," Amanda reminded him.

Lee looked down at the small plastic clip and grimaced, "How long does that last?"

"A week… maybe two. And we can't give them a full, proper bath until it's gone," Amanda replied as she lifted Lily higher in her arms with a small groan.

Lee immediately tensed, "Amanda, are you okay?"

Amanda rolled her eyes, "Lee, I'm fine. It's just going to take me a few days to work out all the aches and pains."

"You're sure?" he questioned with a pointed stare.

"I'm sure," she stated firmly. She glanced up at the clock on the wall and asked, "Do you think you can turn the news on? We didn't catch the weather earlier, and I want to see what the next few days are going to be like. If it's not too hot, we can bring the girls outside. Fresh air never hurt anyone."

Lee cradled DJ in the crook of his arm and reached over to retrieve the television remote from the table. He clicked the on-button and waited for the screen to brighten. "The police are still investigating the two suspicious explosions that took place this afternoon in South Kensington and North Potomac. At this time, they are unsure if the incidences are related," the reporter announced. "Now, onto our weather… Tomorrow will be mostly cloudy and hot as that heatwave begins to roll in. For the next few days, we can expect the temperatures to climb to nearly one hundred degrees."

Lee quickly hit the button again to turn the television off before he turned to Amanda. "I don't know… how hot is too hot for them?" he attempted to distract her from the first part of the news report.

Amanda raised an eyebrow in his direction, "We'll discuss the weather in a minute… you don't think Sorenson has anything to do with those two explosions, do you?"

Lee shook his head, "I don't know. I guess I could call Billy and find out."

"I guess you could," Amanda declared pointedly.

Lee opened his mouth to reply, but the look on Amanda's face silenced him. "Fine, I'll go to the office and call Billy from there. Do you want me to take DJ with me or leave her here with you?" he asked tentatively.

"Take your daughter with you to remind you how important staying out of this is," Amanda instructed.

Lee stood and shifted the baby slightly. "Amanda, I know what you're thinking-" he began, but Amanda held up her hand to stop him.

"There's no way you can possibly know what I'm thinking right now, Stetson," she snapped loudly. Lily whimpered against her shoulder at the sudden increase of volume in her voice. Amanda tipped her chin against the baby's head and patted her back gently.

"I'm not going to go rushing right into work to nail him if he is involved. We don't even know that he is," Lee insisted. He snuggled DJ closer to his chest before he added, "I'm staying right here, with my family." Amanda pursed her lips tightly together as she contemplated his last statement. Without waiting for her reply, Lee left the family room, carrying DJ. He entered their dark office and sat down at the desk before turning on the small desk lamp. He lifted the phone receiver off the cradle and balanced the phone on his shoulder while he dialed Billy's home number.

"Billy, it's Scarecrow. What can you tell me about the two explosions they're talking about on the news?" he questioned as soon as he heard Billy answer the phone.

Lee could hear Billy clear his throat before he admitted, "It was Sorenson. Williams didn't make it, and Robicheau is in intensive care over at General."

"Williams? Robicheau? Billy, Sorenson isn't just targeting me. He's targeting the whole team that brought him down," Lee exclaimed loudly.

"Don't you think I know that!" Billy snapped. "I always know. Francine and I spent the last hour contacting everyone that was on that team to let them know."

Lee rolled his eyes skyward as he wracked his memory for the other agents he worked with. "Who else is left? James… no, he died a few years ago from lung cancer. Wilson… I think he's still around. Kim was working in Crypto a few weeks ago. What happened to Gagne? Or… or…" Lee tapped his hand against DJ's legs as he continued to think. The baby began to cry loudly once Lee tapped her enough to wake her.

"Scarecrow, you need to lay off this now. Go back to your family, man," Billy reprimanded him.

Lee gently rocked DJ as he shifted the phone to his other ear. "I can't, knowing that Sorenson might try again, Billy. Could you back off, knowing Jeannie or one of your girls was in danger?" Lee insisted.

Billy sighed heavily on the other end of the line, "No, I guess I couldn't either. Francine will be swinging by tomorrow morning with the case report. But that's as far as you are involved, you hear me. You are on vacation, for five weeks, remember? That means no work, no reports, nothing!"

"I can't just sit on my hands while Sorenson's out there blowing up members of my team," Lee rebuked loudly.

"Then keep your hands busy some other way, Scarecrow, because you are not, and I repeat, NOT, going to be in the middle of this!" Billy shouted into the phone. Lee cringed slightly as he tried to lift the phone away from his ear while Billy continued his barrage. "And if you do try to insert yourself any more than you already have, I'll write you up for insubordination, and you can explain to Dr. Smyth personally why you're out chasing down a bomber just days after your wife has given birth to your twin daughters! Do I make myself clear?!"

Lee grimaced again as he stammered, "Yes, abundantly." He glanced up to see Amanda's shadowed body in the doorway, blocking out the light from the hall. "What time will Francine be swinging by?" Lee asked tentatively.

Billy grunted once before he replied gruffly, "Around eleven. Now, get some rest. I'm sure you're going to need it." He slammed the phone down with a jangle in Lee's ear. Lee returned the phone receiver to the cradle on the desk before he turned his attention to his wife.

"What did Billy have to say?" Amanda questioned as she held Lily against her chest.

"Um… well… it was Sorenson. But we are not going to worry about that tonight. Tonight, we are going to get the girls settled, so you and I can catch a few hours of sleep before they wake up. Tell you what… I'll even get up with them tonight myself. You just stay in bed and rest," Lee announced as he stood slowly. He turned off the light and gently nudged Amanda out of the office and toward the stairs.

Amanda stopped dead in her tracks, turned, and faced him. "You're not going to be able to handle it," she declared.

"Is that a challenge?" Lee bantered.

"No, it's a fact. There is no way you will possibly be able to feed and change both of them without waking me or Mother," Amanda stated.

Lee pursed his lips together before he nodded slowly. "Fine. Then you can at least stay in bed, and I'll bring them to you. Deal?" Lee countered.

Amanda nodded with a gentle smile, "Deal."


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Lee opened the front door as he scratched the back of his neck. "Hey," he acknowledged Francine standing on his doorstep.

"Hey, yourself," she teased. "Well, I'd have to say that look either says you had a rough night or you're hungover… I'm leaning toward the rough night." Francine flashed him a smile before she stepped into the house.

Lee inhaled loudly, "Long night for sure. I was hoping their first night home… the boys were gone… it was quiet… that it would be peaceful. I don't know what I was thinking." He shook his head as he scratched the back of his neck again.

Francine chuckled, "Didn't sleep much, I take it?"

"Much? I think I averaged about twenty minutes every three hours. I don't know how Amanda did it. As soon as the girls were back to sleep, so was she. Me? I spent the next hour or so trying to go back to sleep, but instead, I found myself focusing on every little sound they made," Lee grumbled.

Francine glanced around the quiet house and asked, "Where are they? I expected you to greet me carrying one of them, at least."

"Asleep, with Amanda. Dotty just ran out to the bakery to get something," Lee tipped his head to the side and added, "Let's get some coffee. I don't know about you, but I need some."

Francine followed Lee into the kitchen and settled herself onto one of the stools. She dropped the file folder she was holding onto the countertop. "Thanks," she replied as Lee handed her a steaming mug.

Lee took a large gulp and asked, "Is that the file I asked Billy for?"

"You mean the one on Sorenson's girlfriend, Gina Castro? Yeah, it's the full autopsy, as well as the background on her. She did have a little bit of a colorful past, you could say," Francine confirmed. She pushed the file in Lee's direction and sipped her coffee as Lee scanned the pages. "I saw it, too," she stated softly when Lee stopped mid-page.

Lee sputtered on his coffee, "She was pregnant? Is that what this is all about?"

Francine shrugged her shoulders and blinked her long, mascara-covered eyelashes, "I think so. Based on the information in there, had she and the baby survived, he'd be about ten years old."

Lee scratched his head and inhaled sharply. "So, his revenge is personal," Lee exhaled.

"I guess. I think he started with you and Amanda and moved to the rest of the team after that part of his plan failed. I mean, from what I read in that report, you had nothing to do with Gina's death or Sorenson's actual arrest," Francine declared.

Lee dropped the report on the counter and leaned onto his hands, "I was in Germany when everything went down, but, yeah, I did put my time in on that case. I interviewed Gina, his family, heck, I even interviewed Gina's neighbors."

"And now, he's on the warpath. Billy told you what happened yesterday?" Francine asked.

"Yeah," Lee nodded, "Williams was a damn good agent and didn't deserve to go down at the hands of Sorenson."

Francine agreed, "Robicheau's still holding his own. Third-degree burns over half his body. He's lucky to even be alive. From what I heard, Sorenson was there. They caught him on a surveillance camera at the shop across the street from Robicheau's house. He stood there and laughed before he disappeared."

Lee took a healthy sip of his coffee before he angrily spat, "Before this is over, I'm gonna nail him, Francine."

"No, you're not getting anywhere near him," Francine insisted.

"That's right," Amanda commanded from the doorway. "Lee isn't getting anywhere near Sorenson. He's staying right here, aren't you, Lee?" Amanda raised an eyebrow to challenge him.

"I thought you were asleep..." Lee stammered.

Amanda stepped further into the room and stated, "I was." She gave Francine a half-hearted smile. "Hello, Francine."

"How are you feeling?" Francine asked sweetly.

Amanda sat down in one of the kitchen chairs, placed the small baby monitor onto the table in front of her, and declared, "I'd feel a lot better if I knew my husband wasn't planning to go after a notorious bomber." She looked over at Lee and added, "You made coffee."

Without being asked, Lee poured her a mug and brought it to her. "I didn't say I was going after him. There are plenty of ways I can help find him. You should know that better than anyone, Amanda. How many times have you helped out by doing research on the computer… or watching surveillance tapes?" Lee appealed to her.

"Lee, you hate the computer. And you hate being cooped up in a room staring at a screen," Amanda reminded him.

Lee glanced over at her as a slight grin threatened. "Okay, so you're right. But I'm not going to go rushing out to scour the streets of DC either," Lee assured her.

Francine watched the exchange and silently bet money Amanda was going to win this argument. She decided to hedge her imaginary bet as she interjected, "Billy's setting up another team this afternoon for anyone available. The meeting is at one."

Lee cleared his throat as he pursed his lips. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned back against the kitchen counter. "Well, I'm not going. If Billy can find me something to do from here, then fine. I'll do what I can. Otherwise, I am off duty and on vacation. I'm not due back until the last week of July."

_Damn._ Francine nodded in agreement, "Well, if you think that's the best decision, who am I to say you're wrong." She glanced over the lip of her coffee mug at Amanda and silently counted to ten. She barely reached six when she heard Amanda speak.

"That's right; you are off duty. Your daughters need you here, in one piece." As if on cue, the small baby monitor crackled to life with the sounds of a small, crying voice.

"I'll go," Lee declared before he disappeared into the foyer and up the stairs.

"Just so you know, I wasn't going to let him go either," Francine assured Amanda.

Amanda gave her a subtle nod, "I didn't think so, but sometimes… well, you know how Lee can be."

"Uh-huh, overprotective, macho caveman-ish?" Francine joked. Amanda simply laughed in return, the tension of the previous moments broken.

On the small monitor, they could hear Lee talking to one of the babies. "Hey, hey, hey. It's okay. You're okay." Within seconds a second small cry was heard. "You, too? Hang on." A long, crackly pause was heard before Lee's voice drifted through again, "Francine? Can you come help me?"

Francine's eyes widened, "Me? What could he possibly need me for?"

Amanda lifted her shoulders and stated, "He can't carry both of them yet. Sitting, yes. Walking down the stairs, not quite. And he knows it will take longer for me to go, so if you wouldn't mind…"

"I can't believe I'm agreeing to this," Francine muttered before she followed the path Lee took minutes before. Amanda sat at the kitchen table, enjoying her coffee as she listened to Lee and Francine discuss how to hold and carry the babies down the stairs. Amanda couldn't help chuckle when she heard Francine ask, "She's not going to do that thing again with her eyes, is she?" and Lee's reply, "Don't watch her eyes. Keep your eye on the steps."

A few minutes later, Lee and Francine made their way into the kitchen slowly. "Francine, you know you can walk normally when you carry her," Amanda instructed.

"I am walking normally," Francine defended. "Maybe a little slower than usual, but I have my higher heels on, and I want to be extra careful," she added. She looked from Lee to Amanda and asked, "What do I do now?"

Lee gently placed one swaddled infant in Amanda's arms, "Well, if you don't mind holding her for another minute or two, I can get their bottles ready."

"Oh," Francine exhaled. She looked around the room, nervously, "Should I just stay here?"

Amanda carefully pushed herself to a standing position as she held the infant against her, "We can go sit in the family room. It's a little more comfortable in there."

"The family room. A good place to sit… with the family… got it," Francine nodded. Slowly the two women left the room, and before long, they were settled onto the couch.

They heard a car door bang outside. A minute later, the garage door swung inward, bouncing off the door stop loudly and Jamie's voice shouting, "Happy Father's Day, Lee!" He stomped down the hall, Philip's heavy footsteps following. "Yeah, happy Father's Day!" Philip echoed. Both babies, startled by the unexpected noise, began to cry again.

In the kitchen, Lee happily replied, just as loud, "Thanks, fellas! I'm glad you're home."

Amanda shook her head and called out, "Fellas! Can you keep it down a bit?"

Francine, overwhelmed by the sudden chaos, looked at Amanda and stated, "Happy Father's Day it is."


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Lee grinned from ear to ear as he stared at the two gifts in his lap. He lifted the book the boys gave him and scanned a few pages. "This is a great read. Thanks," he nodded. "But this…" Lee paused as he lifted the collage picture frame filled with pictures of Lee with the boys. "This is my favorite gift."

Amanda leaned her cheek against Lily's head and whispered, "Your Daddy's only kidding. He likes your gift."

Dotty reached over and patted Amanda's knee with her free hand. "You know they don't understand what you're saying, Amanda," she admonished her with a grin and a tilt of her head before she turned her attention to DJ resting peacefully in the crook of her arm.

"I know that, Mother, but I don't want their feelings hurt," Amanda replied softly.

Lee ran his hand down the front of the t-shirt Amanda had given him. "I love my new shirt, too," he insisted.

"Yeah, Lee, I think it's great. You should wear that to the gym the next time we go," Phillip teased.

Lee shrugged his shoulders and stated, "I'm not so sure this is gym material. I mean, for around the house, it's great, but the gym. I don't think the other guys would get your mother's humor." Lee looked down at the light blue shirt with bright pink letters that read, HOT DADA. "But I do love it," he added. He lifted the frame and pointed to one of the pictures, "Jamie, isn't this the one you took?"

Jamie grinned and nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah, when we went hiking a few weeks ago. I wish Mom could've come with us. That view was amazing."

Lee smiled, "Well, she wasn't in any condition to go hiking that day, but if I know your mother, she'll be good to go before the end of the summer. We'll have to take her up there."

"Can we bring the babies? I mean, I know they won't be able to see much, and they probably won't even care but maybe… I don't know… we could bring them and make it a family day," Phillip suggested.

Lee looked at Amanda and waited for the subtle nod before he assured him, "I don't see why not. I saw these baby carriers that are like a backpack almost, but you can wear it in front. We could get a couple of those and take turns if you fellas want."

Jamie eyed the tiny bundles in his mother and grandmother's arms, "Won't they be too little… for Phillip and I to carry in those things, I mean?"

Amanda patted the couch beside her and bobbed her head to the side to encourage Jamie to get closer. Jamie shifted from his end of the couch to sit beside her and was surprised when Amanda carefully moved Lily into his arms. "They grow fast. A few weeks from now, you won't even remember her being this tiny," she assured him.

Jamie stared into the sleeping face of his sister. He watched as her little hands opened and twitched slightly near her chin. "What's she doing?" he asked nervously.

Amanda gently rubbed the downy strands of light brown hair on her daughter's head, "Dreaming. Growing. They do a lot of that the first few weeks."

Phillip moved away from Lee to kneel on the floor beside Dotty. He watched DJ frown, her bottom lip quivering slightly. "She's not going to cry again, is she?" he questioned.

"They do a lot of that, too, the first month," Amanda laughed lightly. "You boys have to remember, the only real way they know how to communicate right now is to cry. And after a few more days, you'll begin to learn what their different cries mean," she tried to explain.

Phillip pinched his face in disbelief, "Different cries? You mean to tell me they actually have different ways to cry?"

It was Lee's turn to laugh when he thought about Phillip's question. "Sure, they do. Think about Charlie and the different ways he cries," he interjected.

Phillip rested his elbow on the arm of the chair and tucked his chin into his hand. "Okay, when he's tired, he does this whiny sounding cry where he stops every couple of seconds," Phillip began.

"Yeah, and when he's hungry, he screams so loud. Grandma can't get the food in front of him fast enough," Jamie added.

"Oh, and when he bumps his head, he makes that… that… I don't know how to describe it… it's like he's not really hurt, but he wants attention," Phillip sat up straighter.

Amanda smiled at her boys, "That's what I'm talking about. Now, Charlie is a little older and he's learning to use words to express his feelings. It makes things easier to figure out what's going on with him. The girls will get there in time, too, but for now, it's going to take us a few weeks to figure out what their cries mean."

"I already know one of them," Phillip declared with a wide smile.

"What's that, Sweetheart?" Amanda encouraged.

Phillip made eye contact with Lee as he stated, "When Lee's trying to change their diapers."

Lee narrowed his eyes at his stepson as he challenged, "The next one is all on you, Ace. Let's see if you can do any better trying to change both their diapers."

"Bring it on, Pops," Phillip grinned. "I bet twenty bucks I can get it done faster and with less crying," he added.

Lee reached his hand out to shake on it as he agreed, "Fine. Next diaper change, I'm breaking out the stopwatch."

Phillip gripped Lee's hand tightly, and with a solid pump, he stated, "Let the best diaper changer win."

"Boys!" Dotty exclaimed as she rolled her eyes. "Everything is a competition."

Jamie settled back against the pillows of the couch and sighed, "Not for everyone. I'm pretty content to stay right here, holding… um…" He looked up at Amanda with a nervous look on his face.

"DJ," Lee offered.

"No, I'm holding DJ," Dotty stated. "Or at least I think I'm holding DJ." She looked at Amanda in confusion. "This one is DJ, isn't she?"

"I thought Amanda was holding DJ, and you had Lily," Lee admitted. Amanda began to laugh at her family. It wasn't until she realized she didn't know who was holding who that the tears began to stream down her cheeks, and her body shook with glee. "Amanda?" Lee called her name nervously, but she continued to laugh until she was out of breath and her sides hurt.

"Mom? Are you losing it?" Phillip stood and rushed to her side.

Amanda rocked her head side to side as she tried to answer. "I'm fine, Sweetheart," she assured him between giggles.

"You must be exhausted. Exhaustion has made you lose your mind," Dotty declared. "You need to go right back up to bed and get some rest!"

"No, Mother, I'm all right. I just can't stop laughing," Amanda chuckled again. She wiped the tears from her eyes, took a deep breath, and instructed, "Take off their socks." Dotty and Jamie gave Amanda a strange look but did as she said. "Now, which one has a bright pink toenail?"

Everyone studied the sweet little baby feet until Jamie spotted the nail polish on the toenail of the infant in Dotty's arms. "Over there!" he pointed.

Amanda reached up and ruffled his hair as she stated, "DJ will have one painted nail until she starts putting her feet in her mouth where Lily will have none. That was a trick one of the nurses gave me. When they get a little older, we can get their ears pierced… if that's okay with you, Sweetheart." She looked at Lee when she realized they hadn't discussed that possibility.

"That would be okay. When they're what… six, seven? Or is that too young?" Lee nodded.

"I was thinking more like six or seven months," Amanda admitted softly.

Lee blinked slowly as he processed her suggestion. "They actually do that to babies?" he questioned.

Dotty carefully got up from her chair and handed DJ to Amanda. She patted Lee on the shoulder and assured him, "Amanda was only three months old when we got hers done. She doesn't remember a thing, and she never touched them. But, since we've solved the mystery of which of my granddaughters I was holding, I think we need a family picture. Go sit on the couch, and Phillip, you squeeze yourself in there, somewhere, while I get my camera."

Lee moved to the opposite end of the couch, leaving space for Phillip to sit beside him. "Here," Jamie carefully handed Lily to Philip as soon as he sat down. He turned back to Amanda and asked, "Can I hold DJ? That way, you can put your arm around me… like you used to when we took pictures when we were little."

"Only you're not so little anymore," Amanda smiled as she placed DJ in her son's arms. She blinked back the tears that threatened to fall as she observed her sons holding her daughters and her husband's damp eyes looking back at her from the other end of the couch. Lost in the moment, she didn't notice Dotty gleefully dancing her way back into the room.

"Smile, everyone! That means you, Lee," Dotty instructed. She snapped several pictures and sighed, "What a beautiful family I have."


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

The next few days were a blur for most of the Stetson/King family as they settled into their new life with the twins. Even the boys were not immune to the constant fluctuation of crying, diaper changes, and bottle feedings. And it became clear early on, as it could typically happen with newborns, each girl had their favorite person of the day, which, also, unfortunately, varied from day to day.

"Mom?" Jamie groaned sleepily Thursday morning. "Can I get some earplugs?" he asked as he rested his head in his hand while he attempted to eat his cereal.

Amanda blinked back, just as sleepy, and gave her son a weak smile. "I know it's hard right now, but it shouldn't last too much longer, I don't think. But if you really want to get some, I think that would be okay. I'll see if Lee can run to the store for you," she sighed.

"Thanks," he exhaled. He took several more bites and declared, "I'm going to go back to bed if that's okay." He carried his bowl to the sink and stopped when Amanda draped her arms around him in a hug. Silently, he left the room, leaving Amanda sitting at the counter, sipping her coffee.

Several minutes later, Lee padded into the kitchen, where he found Amanda leaning onto her arms, sound asleep. "Hey," he gently shook her and guided her to the couch to lay down comfortably. "Go back to sleep," he whispered before she closed her eyes and quickly settled into a deep sleep. He tugged a lightweight blanket over her and left the room to pour himself a cup of coffee. He glanced up at the clock on the wall. He honestly wasn't surprised to find it was after ten in the morning. The previous night was a tough one as the twins woke up every two hours and were seemingly inconsolable. He swallowed back the coffee in several large gulps before he refilled his cup.

"That was a rough one," Dotty announced when she entered the room. She gave Lee a pat on the arm before she pulled her favorite coffee mug from the cabinet.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I don't know what's wrong with them. I was thinking about bringing them to the doctor, but Amanda keeps telling me it's normal."

Dotty nodded reassuringly, "Well, part of it's normal, no doubt. I mean, think about it. One day, they're all snuggled up tight, and a week later, they're in a big scary world alone. Wouldn't you cry?"

Lee took another sip of his coffee, and his eyes widened as an idea dawned on him. "Dotty, you are a genius!" he declared before he quickly left the room and ran up the stairs to their bedroom.

"What did I say?" Dotty questioned the empty kitchen, completely bewildered.

In the master bedroom, Lee stood over the two bassinets where his daughters were sleeping. He watched their little brows furrow in their sleep, and he couldn't help notice how much they looked like Amanda at that exact moment. He paused for a minute, then gently reached into Lily's bassinet and lifted her out. She squirmed slightly in his hands at his disruption and began to scrunch up her face, preparing to cry, but when he softly placed her beside DJ in the same bassinet, she stopped and sighed. Instinctively, the twins tipped their heads closer together, and almost immediately, Lee could see them both visibly relax. He watched for several more minutes as their breathing evened off, and they appeared to settle into a deeper sleep than they'd just been in. He reached out and tucked their blankets around them a little tighter. He took the baby monitor with him when he left the bedroom and headed back down the stairs. Dotty was no longer in the kitchen, and Lee found himself alone in the eerily quiet house.

From the other room, he heard the soft jangling of the office phone. Taking his coffee and the monitor with him, he closed the office door behind him and lifted the phone receiver off the cradle, "Scarecrow," he muttered automatically.

"Lee, it's Billy," the voice on the other end crackled.

"Hey," Lee responded.

He could hear Billy's muffled voice telling someone to close the door before he heard him loudly announce, "I have news on Sorenson."

"I thought I wasn't supposed to be involved," Lee laughed before he leaned back in the chair and took a long swig of his coffee.

"Yeah, well, it doesn't matter anymore," Billy informed him. "Sorenson's dead."

"What? When?" Lee hammered. He sat up rapidly, spilling his coffee onto his desk and pajama pants. Lee looked around for something to wipe it with but found nothing, so he leaned forward and used the bottom edge of his t-shirt.

"Last night. After what happened to Robicheau, we reached out to Gagne and told him to keep an eye out for Sorenson. You remember, Gagne retired a few months ago," Billy began.

Lee lifted his chin and focused on the ceiling as he tried to remember if he knew about Gagne's retirement. "I don't remember that," Lee admitted.

"Well, you were a little distracted with everything going on with Amanda. You probably just forgot. Gagne didn't want a big deal made about it either," Billy reminded him. "Anyway, he was out walking his dog when he noticed someone dressed like a delivery man carrying a package to his front door. When he called out to say thanks, Sorenson made the mistake of turning around, and Gagne recognized him immediately. I guess old habits die hard because he was still carrying his weapon, and he fired on him."

Lee inhaled sharply as an image formed in his mind of Gagne holding a gun on Sorenson. "He shot him?" Lee questioned.

"Not exactly. He shot at him. Funny thing is, Gagne's aim is probably as bad as Amanda's, but he still managed to hit the box Sorenson was carrying. Gagne and his dog only suffered a few minor cuts and bruises, although I think his hearing's going to be off for a while. And the porch on his house is pretty much destroyed, but it could have been worse," Billy explained.

Lee shook his head, "Wow, I don't believe it. Killed by his own bomb. When are these terrorists going to learn?"

Billy chuckled into the phone, "I just wanted you to know, you can finally relax. And enjoy your family without that stress. I'll pull the guys watching your house as soon as I get off the phone."

"Thanks, Billy. Now, if we can get the girls to sleep more than two hours, we might be able to relax," Lee yawned. He immediately felt relieved he no longer had to be vigilant because Sorenson couldn't target them again.

"They having a rough time adjusting?" Billy asked.

"A little, but I'm hoping the little trick I just pulled on them will help all of us," Lee teased.

Billy coughed loudly and demanded, "You pulled a trick on your one-week-old daughters, Scarecrow?"

Lee laughed, "Sort of. I'll let you know if it makes a difference." He took another sip of his coffee and added, "Hey, Amanda and I were talking yesterday about having a cookout for the Fourth of July. You know, kind of like a… come meet the girls and celebrate at the same time. What do you say… you and Jeannie interested?"

"Of course, we'd be interested. Especially when the steaks are on your dime," Billy assured him.

"Great, I'll give you some more details in a day or two. Right now, I'm going to see if I can get an uninterrupted shower in before anyone wakes up," Lee stated. "I'll talk to you soon." Without waiting for Billy's reply, Lee happily hung up the phone and left the office with a little bounce in his step for the first time in over a week. He slipped quietly into the bedroom, and before he disappeared into the master bath, he peeked a look at the twins still sleeping slightly huddled together. He smiled when he noticed their tiny fingers were entangled together, and they were breathing in unison.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

"Amanda, I don't know how you make it all look so easy," Debbie Ann laughed as she watched Amanda carrying a large bowl of pasta salad outside.

Amanda looked around at the gathering of friends and family in the backyard, a bit confused. "What, bringing out the rest of our lunch?"

Debbie Ann laughed again, "No, you look fabulous for having two and a half week old twins. Me, I looked like I was still very pregnant when Christopher was that age. And you're running around here, arranging everything… what's your secret? You can tell me. I promise I won't tell anyone."

Amanda reached over and took her friend's hands. "There is no secret. I'm just very lucky, I guess. I have a lot of help around here, and now that Lee figured out how to get the girls to sleep more than two hours at a time, it's amazing how much better we all feel."

"Your husband figured out how to get the girls to sleep? Is there anything he can't do?" Debbie Ann gasped. "Michael could barely figure out how to change a diaper, never mind anything else."

With a smile, Amanda focused on the back of the yard where the boys and Debbie Ann's daughter, Aimee, were kicking a soccer ball around while little Charlie was doing his best to try to follow them. "Hey, fellas, watch out for Charlie. He wants to play, too," she called loudly. Without turning around, Jamie gave her a clear thumbs-up as he stopped the ball and gently pushed it in Charlie's direction. He was rewarded with a hearty giggle and Charlie's little voice bellowing, "Bahl!"

"See, that's what I mean! You've got everything under control. Even your teenage boys listen, whereas Christopher would just as soon kick the ball away from him than try to play," Debbie Ann reinforced her earlier comment.

Amanda tipped her head slightly and stated, "You have to remember, Mother's been taking care of Charlie since Christmas, so they're used to him. If you watch, I bet Phillip goes and gets the smaller ball just for Charlie." Just as Amanda predicted, Phillip sidestepped the game and quickly found the little soccer ball they kept for the toddler. He made a show of kicking the ball over to Charlie to get his attention away from the other kids. His plan worked, and soon, Lauren was on her feet along with Tom Edwards, gently tapping the ball between them to keep Charlie occupied. "See. That's the newest game Charlie enjoys. He will play that for an hour, just chasing the ball between two people," Amanda grinned. "He just started walking not all that long ago, but as soon as he figured it out, all he wanted to do was run after the boys."

Debbie Ann put her arm around her friend and gave her a squeeze, "I still don't know how you do it."

"Amanda? Does Lee need those steaks yet?" Dotty called from the back door.

Amanda glanced over at Lee, standing at the grill. He was animatedly talking to Billy and Leatherneck, waving a long grilling spatula in his hand. "I'll check," she replied with a grin.

"I better go see if Michael wants a drink or something. He's been talking to Lee's uncle and Curt since we got here. I'm sure he's thirsty by now." Debbie Ann gave Amanda another squeeze, and they parted ways.

Amanda made her way over to Lee, smiling at everyone she passed. She was pleased to see Francine and Emily, along with TP, Harry, and Christina, sitting together. Joe and Carrie were keeping Aunt Lillian and Aunt Edna occupied in a shady corner of the yard. Amanda slipped her arm around Lee's waist to get his attention. "Enjoying yourselves?" she asked.

Billy smiled and with a nod, "You've done a fine job, Amanda. I hope it wasn't too much on you both."

"Thank you, sir. I was just telling Debbie Ann, it's all about the help. And sleep. Now that Lee figured out how to get the girls to sleep longer, it's almost amazing how much we can get done," Amanda admitted.

"Lee figured out how to get the girls to sleep longer?" Billy lifted his chin at Lee as he awaited an answer.

Lee opened the grill cover and shrugged his shoulders, "Well, yeah, I guess you could say that. The day you called to tell me about Sorenson, Dotty and I were talking, and she reminded me of something I read in one of the parenting twins' books."

"Is this the little trick you played on them?" Billy chuckled. Amanda raised an interested eyebrow immediately.

"It wasn't exactly a trick. I just put the two of them together in the same bed, that's all. Turns out, it worked. The book explained that twins are comforted by each other in the same space, so I figured it was worth a try. To be honest, I had forgotten all about that part until Dotty mentioned they were all alone," Lee stated as he focused on the hamburgers.

Amanda laughed lightly and added, "Well, we are all thankful you did remember. Otherwise, we'd probably still be a bunch of walking zombies. And speaking of Mother, she wants to know if you are ready for those steaks yet."

Lee surveyed the meat on the grill and nodded, "I think so. The burgers and hot dogs should be done in another minute or two, so sure. Are the girls still sleeping?"

"They should be awake any time now. As a matter of fact, I'll check on them when I go back inside to let Mother know," Amanda smiled.

Leatherneck took a sip of his beer and added, "You should see if Francine wants to help you. She's been talking about how she was practicing holding a pillow and walking around." Three heads snapped in his direction and stared at him. "But I didn't tell you that. That was on a need to know basis only," he swallowed another gulp of beer.

Amanda nodded and ran her fingers across her lips, "My lips are sealed. I didn't hear a thing."

"Didn't hear a thing about what?" Francine interjected from behind Amanda.

"Um, nothing, Francine. Leatherneck was just telling secrets about how to…" Amanda gave Leatherneck a panicked look, knowing Francine couldn't see her face at the moment.

Leatherneck cleared his throat and quickly stated, "Secrets about how to get the best sear on the steaks she's going to get from Dotty. Nothing like a good sear to keep the juices in, isn't that right, Billy?" Leatherneck tipped his beer in Billy's direction.

Billy coughed nervously, "Yes, that's exactly what he was saying. We don't want Scarecrow to screw them up and ruin a good steak."

Francine blinked several times before she replied, "No, we don't want that. And what's this I see… beer? My, my, my, how things have changed, Scarecrow. No Chateau Petrus? Or what about Penfolds Grange Hermitage? I heard the '51 might be coming up on the auction block again."

"Ha-ha, very funny. Red wine does not go with hamburgers. The steaks, maybe, but there's nothing like an ice-cold beer to keep you cool on a summer's day. And speaking of steaks, if we want to eat them any time this afternoon, we should probably get those, don't you think, Amanda?" Lee retorted.

Amanda gave Lee a quick wink before she turned and asked sweetly, "Francine, can you come inside with me to check on the girls?" She barely paused to take a breath when she began to ramble, "They should be awake any time now, and I'm sure everyone is excited to meet them. I know the Colonel and Harry have been at us since they got here, but now that the girls are finally sleeping more than two hours at a time, we don't want to wake them if we don't have to. Which is why we should probably go check on them and see if they are awake because it's been almost four hours, and they are going to need their diapers changed and probably a quick bottle before we bring them outside for everyone to see them."

Francine held up her hand to stop Amanda's ramble. "I get it, I get it, Amanda. I'll come inside with you," she laughed. Amanda turned with one last wink in the men's direction, and the two women headed toward the house.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

Just as Amanda had suspected, as soon as she and Francine entered the house, the twins' cries were heard crackling through the baby monitor on the kitchen counter. "Oh good, you're back," Dotty sighed. "I was just going to head up there. Not that I can carry them both down, mind you, but I could at least let them know they are okay."

"We'll get them, Mother," Amanda smiled. "Lee said anytime for those steaks is fine."

"I'll bring them right out. Do you want me to get their bottles ready while you change them?" Dotty offered.

With a smile, Jeannie lifted the plate of steaks and stated, "I'll take these. It sounds like you have your hands full." She was out the door before anyone even had a chance to reply.

"That would be great, Mother." On the monitor, the cries began to get louder. "We're coming, we're coming," Amanda called out softly. She left the kitchen, Francine only a few steps behind. "They need to be changed completely, Francine. Are you up for that?" she teased.

"Amanda, when you say completely, what exactly do you mean?" Francine asked.

At the top of the stairs, their cries could be heard through the partially opened door. "Everything. Their diapers and their clothes. I got them new outfits just for today," Amanda clarified as she pushed the door open and stepped into the dimly lit room. "What's all the noise for?" she asked softly. She reached into one bassinet and lifted one crying little bundle. Turning, she handed the baby over to Francine and stated, "You can put her right on that towel on the bed. It's easier than bringing them downstairs right now."

Francine, uncharacteristically quiet, did as she was instructed while Amanda collected the second crying infant. Amanda placed the baby on the bed beside Francine and stated, "Now, this is the fun part. They're either going to completely love this or absolutely hate it." She laughed at the look on Francine's face. "We're just going to take everything off."

"Everything? Like their diapers, too?" Francine's eyes widened in fear.

"Don't worry. I'll walk you through it," Amanda smiled.

Francine exhaled loudly, "I'm trusting you." She looked down at the infant, now whimpering and blinking back at her. "She's bigger than the last time I was here," she commented.

"Babies have a tendency to grow fast at this age." Amanda began unsnapping the infant's pajamas as she talked to her daughter, "DJ, DJ, DJ, it's not that bad. We're going to get changed and head outside to see everyone."

Francine watched and slowly began to unsnap Lily's clothes. She continued to glance over at Amanda to see what she was doing next. "Hello, Lily. It's been a while since I've seen you," she spoke tentatively. She paused for a moment and questioned, "This one is Lily? Right?"

Amanda nodded, "Yes, I made sure Lily was in yellow, and DJ was in green when I put them down. If you're not sure, check to see if she has nail polish on her toes. If she does, that's DJ."

Francine exhaled loudly as she stated, "Okay, I can do this." She carefully tugged Lily's arm out of the sleeves, just as Amanda had done with DJ, and proceeded to slide the material under and off her legs. Amanda handed her a clean diaper and smiled. Francine held her breath and asked, "How do I do this?"

"Well, first, you want to make sure you have a wipe or two in your hand. Then, you need to take the sides off the dirty one, wipe her down, swap it for a clean one, and fasten the sides," Amanda explained.

Francine furrowed her brow and repeated, "Take the sides off? What is this, a convertible jeep?"

Amanda laughed as she tugged the plastic tab on the waistband of DJ's diaper. "The sides… these tabs here."

Francine's mouth formed an 'O' before she gently peeled the sticky side off the diaper. She did a cursory check to be sure there were no surprises before she followed Amanda's example. She quickly wiped the baby down but panicked when she noticed a dark, scabby spot on her belly button. "Amanda? Is she hurt? Did I hurt her?" she gasped.

Amanda glanced over and assured her, "Nope, she's healing just fine. Another week and you won't even notice that." Amanda reached over and rubbed her daughter's belly as she crooned, "She going to have the cutest little belly button, aren't you, Lily?" She turned back to DJ and rubbed her belly and quickly added, "Just like her sister's, huh, DJ?"

Francine shook her finger from one twin to the other and asked tentatively, "Do you do that a lot?"

"Do what?" Amanda replied as she carefully slipped DJ's new Fourth of July outfit over her head. The baby squawked in discomfort. "You're all right," Amanda scolded her lightly while she maneuvered her hands into the armholes before she snapped the red, white, and blue outfit together at the crotch and legs.

"Talk to them like that?" Francine observed. She still hadn't made any progress on removing the wet diaper, and Lily was beginning to squirm.

Amanda carefully lifted DJ off the bed and held her to her shoulder as she commented, "She's not going to stay quiet for much longer, Francine, so you better get moving. I'm surprised they've been good for as long as they have. Usually, we have about three minutes to get them changed, and the bottles in their mouths before they start crying again."

"Sorry. I'm just not very good at this kind of thing. Give me an automatic weapon and ask me to disassemble it, no problem…" Francine pointed out.

"But changing a diaper and Lily's clothes is another thing. I know," Amanda interjected.

Francine glanced up at Amanda and carefully finished changing Lily's diaper. With a little more guidance from Amanda, she was able to get the small jumper onto the baby with minimal tears before she scooped her up and declared they were ready to go. Together, they returned to the kitchen where Dotty immediately gushed, "Look at how sweet my beautiful granddaughters look in their first Fourth of July outfits. I'm so glad you decided to get these in the opposite colors. It's going to make it easier to tell them apart."

Amanda smiled, "Exactly what I was thinking when I saw them. DJ is in red, Lily in blue. I even wrote it on that chart in their room, so we can use it again in the future if we need to."

"Well, this needs a picture!" Dotty declared. She began to look around the kitchen to figure out where she'd left her camera last.

"Hold that thought, Mother, because I don't think they are going to wait much longer for those bottles. Maybe Francine and I could bring them outside first, so everyone can finally see them," Amanda smiled.

Dotty reached out and touched their bare legs and decided, "You might be right. Should I get their little blankets in case they get cold out there?"

Amanda lifted one of the bottles off the counter and shook her head, "No, I think they'll be fine. It's not too hot today, which is nice." She looked over her shoulder at Francine and added, "Are you ready for this?"

"As ready as I'm ever going to be," Francine exhaled. She collected the remaining bottle and followed Amanda.

Almost immediately, everyone crowded around to see the babies in their arms. Amanda gently stated, "They need a few more minutes to wake up and have their lunch, so I hope everyone else enjoys theirs in the meantime."

She led Francine to the table with the umbrella and sat down. Immediately, Lee was beside them. Without asking, he lifted DJ from Amanda's arms and kissed her on the cheek, "Hello, Miss DJ. Daddy missed you." He gave her back to Amanda and moved to Francine, where he quickly scooped Lily up, kissed her cheek, and added, "And you, too, Lily-girl. Daddy missed you too." He laughed before he returned the baby to Francine as he stated, "Be nice to Francine. It looks like she has a new shirt on today. You don't want to ruin it. I'm sure it's a designer original."

"Very funny," Francine groaned, but silently she pondered what he meant.

"Sweetheart, I forgot to grab a couple of cloths… would you mind running back inside?" Amanda looked up as she situated DJ into her arms and propped the bottle into her mouth. Francine copied as best as she could, although it took an extra minute to get them both comfortable.

Lee glanced over at the smoking grill and called Jamie. He explained what Amanda needed, and with a nod, Jamie ran off into the house without a word. Lee leaned down, brushed his lips against Amanda's head before he moved back to the grill.

As Lily sucked away, contently on the bottle, Francine lifted her chin in Lee's direction and asked, "Is he like that all the time now?"

"Well, you know how Lee can be… attentive to all the women in his life," Amanda teased. She couldn't help smile at her husband across the yard and at how much their lives had changed in just a year.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

Amanda and Francine drew a small crowd around them as they fed the twins their bottles. Aunt Lillian parked herself as close to Francine as she could, making Francine very uncomfortable under her constant scrutiny. "She's my namesake, you know," Aunt Lillian smiled. She stroked Lily's soft, light brown strands as the infant focused on Francine's hand holding the bottle.

"Francine, you'll need to burp her soon," Amanda reminded her friend.

"Excuse me?" Francine blinked. "I need to do what?"

"Burp her. Put her on your shoulder, pat her back and make sure she burps before she finishes that bottle," Amanda explained with a straight face.

Francine looked down at Lily and paused, "Okay, I guess this is how this is going to work." She gently tugged the bottle free from Lily's suction and put it on the table. She started to lift her onto her shoulder when Aunt Lillian interjected, "Don't forget that cloth. You don't want that beautiful blouse ruined by baby spit-up." "No, we don't want that," Francine muttered through clenched teeth. She adjusted the towel on her shoulder and glanced over to watch Amanda, who was actively talking with Aunt Edna while she patted DJ's back. After a minute, the baby emitted a loud belch, and Amanda shifted her back into the crook of her arm to continue to feed her.

"I have to say, I was very disappointed to hear you weren't breastfeeding, Amanda," Aunt Edna scolded her as Francine adjusted Lily on her shoulder.

Amanda shook her head and replied, "Well, if you remember, I tried with both boys, but I guess I just wasn't meant to be a milk machine because nothing happened. No matter what we tried and believe me, I think we tried every trick in the book, but it just didn't happen." Francine continued to pat Lily's back as the conversation around her continued.

"Well, I know your generation wasn't given that formula stuff. It must be something in the water nowadays because we never had those kinds of problems," Aunt Edna began.

"I also think the accident I had last year may have made things difficult as well. They said the scar tissue alone-" Amanda tried only this time it was Francine's turn to interrupt, "Scar tissue is very difficult to break down. In fact, even a good plastic surgeon could have a hard time with it." Amanda, Aunt Edna, and Aunt Lillian turned and gave Francine a puzzled look. Suddenly uncomfortable with the attention, she patted the baby's back harder, earning a solid, juicy-sounding burp. She cringed as she felt wetness on her shoulder, and she even shuddered slightly as she felt it traveling down her back.

"I'll get that for you," Aunt Lillian smiled. Francine shifted the baby back into her arms as the older woman moved the towel and blotted the back of Francine's shirt. "If you get some dish detergent mixed with water on this in the next few minutes, you won't even smell it later," she assured her.

Francine held Lily's bottle against the baby's lips as she blanched, "I'll do that."

"I am so sorry, Francine. She must have drank just a little too much. She rarely does that. Well, I guess I can't say that she almost never does that. She only does it once or twice a day, but I really didn't think she'd do that now," Amanda rambled her apology.

Francine straightened her spine a little as she stated, "I can do this. I'll be fine. I'm glad I brought another shirt with me since I couldn't decide which one would look better later when it starts to get darker out." She looked down at the child in her arms and sighed as two hazel-grey eyes stared back at her. "It's okay, I'm not mad," she assured the baby softly. Francine couldn't help but smile. "I couldn't be mad at someone who shares my name, too." She adjusted Lily into the crook of her arm and propped the bottle back into her eager mouth.

Minutes later, Amanda was burping DJ again when the Colonel appeared in front of her. He smiled and asked, "Amanda, would it be all right?" He gestured his arms out, indicating he wanted to hold the baby.

Amanda smiled readily, "Of course, Colonel. Do you want to sit?"

Colonel Clayton grinned, "No, that's quite all right. Skip doesn't remember, but when he was a baby, I came to visit him at just about this age. I paced the room one afternoon, just to give Matthew and Jenny a break from his constant crying. You see, every time you stopped moving, he would start crying all over again." Amanda stood and cradled DJ's head in her hand until she shifted the baby into his arms. "Which one is this one?" the Colonel asked politely.

"That is DJ, Dorothea Jennifer, and I think she likes you," Amanda stroked her daughter's back softly as she nuzzled herself against the Colonel's shoulder.

Colonel Clayton peered down his nose to get a better look at DJ's face, "She looks so much like Skip as a baby. You know, I think I even have a picture of him at this age. I came across an old box of photographs in storage the other day. I should bring them over the next time I come to visit. I'm sure Skip would love to see pictures of his dad as a kid."

"I know he would love that," Amanda assured him. From behind her, she heard a muffled burp followed by Francine muttering, "Not again." "Excuse me, Colonel." She turned back to find Francine grimacing. "Need some help?" she asked Francine sympathetically.

Francine surveyed the line of baby vomit on her shirt and sighed, "I think it's a lost cause at this point."

Amanda shook her head, "It's not that bad. Here, let me take Lily. You mentioned you brought another shirt, so why don't you go change, and I'll clean that one up for you, so it doesn't get ruined." Francine sighed, lifted the baby out of her lap, and transferred her into Amanda's arms. Amanda looked down and commented, "You'll want to get that mustard out, though. That'll stain your white pants for sure."

Francine frowned, looked down at her thigh, and questioned, "Mustard? What are you talking about mustard? I didn't eat anything yet, never mind anything with mustard."

Amanda carefully shifted Lily in her arms and tried to hold back the giggle. "Then, you'll want to come inside and use a wipe on that while I change Lily's diaper."

The color drained from Francine's face as the meaning of Amanda's words sunk in. "You mean that's…" Francine shuddered as her words trailed off.

"Sorry, Francine, but it looks like Lily christened you in more ways than one," Amanda stated. For added emphasis, she took a quick peek at Lily's leg, and sure enough, a healthy smudge of the yellow substance was sticking to her skin. "You must not have tightened her diaper enough," Amanda explained.

Francine looked down at her pant leg one more time and suddenly noticed the yellow smear on her hand. "Babies are nastier than I thought," Francine gagged. She grabbed the damp burp cloth and tried to wipe the yellow mess off her hand without spreading the baby vomit onto her palm. She shuddered and tossed the cloth back onto the table, and stood up. She was just about to snap when she glanced down into two hazel-grey eyes blinking back at her. She took a deep breath and sighed, "I'm sorry, Lily. I didn't mean that. It wasn't your fault." She reached up and toyed with her little foot. "Okay, Amanda, show me how to get… this… off… before I lose my appetite," she gestured her soiled hand at her soiled pant leg.

With a laugh, Amanda turned back to the Colonel and asked, "Do you mind holding DJ for a bit longer?"

Colonel Clayton nodded sharply and lifted the baby's arm to wave, "Don't let the uniform fool you, Amanda. When it comes to a little one like these two, I can't say no."

Amanda reached out and touched his arm, "I'm glad to see you didn't wear the uniform today. You look very… comfortable."

"I'm finding fewer and fewer reasons to wear it day to day now. I've started transferring most of my duties onto the Command Chief Master Sergeant, and I even started reading again. I forgot how much I loved to read," Colonel Clayton admitted.

"Well, I know Lee appreciates you being here today," Amanda smiled once more. "Come on, Francine. Let's get you and Lily cleaned up before anyone notices we're gone."

Twenty minutes later, Amanda, Lily, and Francine reappeared in the backyard. Luckily, Lily only managed to damage Francine's pants and not her own outfit. On the other hand, Francine was now wearing the extra blouse she packed in her car, along with a pair of long Bermuda style khaki shorts Amanda loaned her. Leatherneck approached, a confused look on his face, "Well, that's a new look for you, Francine."

Francine smoothed her hands down her thighs and stated, "I had to learn to roll with the punches today. Instead of leaving this wonderful party, I chose to make the best of things. I've done enough undercover work that I can survive a few hours in this outfit."

Leatherneck nodded appreciatively, "Uh-huh. Well, since you're making the best of it, maybe you can help me out. Lee asked me to get him some ice from the fridge in the garage for the coolers. The beers are going to get warm."

Francine rolled her eyes but nodded, "Of course. Lead the way." She followed Leatherneck across the yard and inside the garage.

Amanda lowered Lily into Aunt Lillian's arms as she stated, "I should probably go help, as well. Will you be all right with her for a few minutes?"

"Unlike your mother, I had six babies in my care at one time. I ran my own daycare for many years, you know. I can handle this precious little one," Aunt Lillian assured her.

Amanda turned and headed back into the house. She stopped in the small bathroom for a minute before she opened the garage door. She gasped when she saw Francine pressed against her Wagoneer, her arms wrapped around Leatherneck's back. The pair were engrossed in a very passionate kiss, oblivious to her presence. When she cleared her throat loudly, they nervously jumped apart. Leatherneck ran his hand through his hair and looked at the floor as Francine dabbed at her lip to be sure her lipstick wasn't smudged. Amanda simply smiled and thought back to the many times she and Lee had been caught in each other's arms.

"Amanda… we were just…" Francine stammered as she tried to explain.

An old memory passed through Amanda's mind. She made eye contact and deadpanned, "Don't bother to explain. It will only make things worse." Without waiting for a reply, she hurriedly turned and jogged back up the steps and into the house, closing the door behind her.

Ten minutes later, a blushing Francine and stone-faced Leatherneck exited the garage carrying three bags of ice. They filled the coolers and discarded the plastic bags before rejoining Lee at the grill. He and Billy were laughing loudly as he carefully removed the steaks and announced they were ready. From the back door, Dotty was standing and holding the cordless phone. "Lee? You have a phone call," she shouted across the backyard.

Lee squinted his eyes, "Who is it?"

"Paul Barnes. He said it's important," Dotty insisted. She waved the phone in her hand again.

Lee turned to Billy, "I thought Paul was in France, enjoying his retirement. Why would he be calling me… today?"

Billy clapped Lee on the back and stated, "I'm sure it's nothing. Go. Find out what he wants. I'll take care of bringing these steaks over."

Lee jogged across the grass and took the phone from Dotty. "Hey, Paul. What's going on?" Lee greeted his old friend and mentor.

"Scarecrow! I'm in trouble. I need your help," Paul stated grimly on the other end of the phone.

Lee sobered up immediately and made eye contact with Amanda across the yard. As Paul began to explain, the muscle in his cheek began to twitch wildly. "I got it," he nodded before he pressed the end button on the phone.

_To be continued in "A Bump in the Yellow Brick Road"... (Coming January 2021)_


End file.
